The Little Brave Prince
by Pekenota14
Summary: Castle and Beckett have their little family, a son, James, and a daughter, Johanna. Following their lives... One-shots collections. Caskett fluff, mostly.
1. Chapter 1

For the effects of this fic, that I don't own any character, Alexis does **not** exist. I'm totally clueless about this. This is just an idea that I had, but I can develop it, I don't know...It's just meant to be fluff and sweet, at least for now...

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Beckett was lying face up over the bed as her five-year-old son, James, was making of her the trail for his car toys. He was playing with the little cars, moving them from up her leg to her 32 week pregnant belly. The baby on her belly moved and the cars fell down over the bed.

"Hey! She's messing with my toys!" He said surprised and impressed.

She couldn't help, but to laugh at what he said. "I have the feeling I'll be listening to this a lot more times!"

"When is she going to be born, anyway?" He asked curious, putting the hands over her belly.

"In eight weeks."

"Uhm," He lay back on bed and crossed the legs. "eight weeks is, like, on Sunday?"

Beckett stroked her son's brown hair and answered. "No, babe, eight weeks is in eight weeks."

James turned around again and crawled, snuggling next to her. "How did she get in there?"

"I don't know, you tell me, mister."

"I think she grew in your belly…" The boy looked the ceiling and added. "Or maybe were aliens that put her there!"

"So, we're aliens today?" She asked, grinning. "Because just yesterday we were dinosaur decedents."

"And tomorrow we're kings!" He stated, laughing. "I'm Sir James Alexander Castle, a brave warrior and the Prince of our land. Johanna will be the little Princess and dad is the big King in charge of our whole kingdom."

"Okay. And what's my role in all that, Sir James Alexander Castle?"

"You are the beautiful Queen, who fights for justice."

"So, I'm still a police officer?" She smiled at him, still being amazed day after day by her son's imagination.

"Well, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javi help you." He said, smiling sweetly at her. James focused his green eyes on hers and asked her. "It's late. When his dad coming home?"

"I don't know. He's signing autographs. It can take the whole night."

"Why didn't we go with him this time?"

"Because today is Tuesday. You have to get up early to go to kindergarten."

"I could have stayed with Grams and you could have gone."

"Yeah, but mom is tired and I still have to work two more weeks, so I need to get a lot of sleep too." Kate sat on bed, pulled him for her lap and put a kiss on his head. "So, speaking of sleep, it's already way beyond your bedtime, don't you think, Jimmy?"

"Can I sleep here? Just for tonight?"

"Go grab your pillow, quick."

James jumped of the bed and ran to his bedroom, coming running again with the pillow under the arm. He put his pillow between his parents' ones and laid the head over it. Kate pulled the bed sheets closer to him and lay on bed too.

Beckett caressed his hair, commenting. "You know, you are like your dad, in everything."

"Hey, mom?"

"Uhm?"

"You think I can join a football team?"

"I don't see why not. But why don't we talk about it in the morning and tell it to your dad too?"

"Okay. Night, mom." He bent over her, put away the hair from her cheek and placed there a kiss. "And night Jo." He put a kiss over her belly, putting the head on the pillow again.

Beckett put a kiss on his cheek as well. "Night to you too, Sir Jimmy." The kid smiled and snuggled the bed sheets under the chin.

The kid had just fallen asleep when Beckett heard him entering home. She could hear him trying to be silent in every step, but he just couldn't. He opened the bedroom's door slowly and she looked back.

He started taking off the jacket and walked to her, put a kiss on her lips and placed his hand over tummy, getting a kick from his daughter that made both smile. "How long has he been sleeping?"

"He just fell asleep now." She pulled him for another kiss by the shirt collar. "How it was with the autographs?"

"It was as it always is. I'm exhausted!" He changed clothes and slipped into bed with them. On his side of the bed he found the two toy cars of James, grabbed them and put them over the bedside table. "Good night, Jay-Jay." He whispered into his child's hair, giving him a kiss and nestling him on his chest. He gave one last smile to his wife before both fell asleep.

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I seriously don't know what to do next. I don't even know if this will be a one-shot or not...This was just a random idea that I had. Suggestions are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, here it is the second chapter. I've already figured what this fic is going to be about: moments of their life. Flashbacks, flashforwards, basically, accompanying their life...This one is the continuation of the first chapter, this is the next morning, but it doesn't mean that the progression will be this one, following day after day.

Oh, well, I want to thank the reviews and I gotta say that all those alerts blew my mind off!

**Now, I got a question that I'd love someone to answer me: if I change the story's title, it will be any difference because of the story alerts?**

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Rick had turned on bed and his son was now sleeping hooked on his back, holding his T-shirt collar. The sun was bright, too bright to be directly beating on his eyes and just then the phone's alarm rang. He groped the bedside table, grabbed the phone and turned it off. He got up, releasing James' hand of his shirt and then shook him lightly.

"Jimmy, awake up." The kid rolled over to the other side, mumbling. He pulled with him the bed sheets, covered himself underneath them, lying face down on the pillow, prancing the butt. "It's time to go to school."

"Idon'twannagotoschool!" He muttered.

"Come on, get up." He said, tickling him.

"No!"

"C'mon and don't awake up your mother."

"I'm already awake." She answered on a yawn. "And, yes, Jimmy, you're going to school." She pulled back the bed sheets and he crawled to the end of the bed, sleepy walking to his bedroom.

Castle leaned over her and placed a longstanding kiss on her lips. "Morning, good looking."

"Morning." She replied back, getting another kiss. This time she moaned into his mouth and when they broke the kiss, she grinned and sat on the bed. Her back bones cracked six times, one after one.

"I hope that's a good sound."

"It felt good, at least."

She put the feet on the ground, sitting on the edge of the bed. He embraced her from behind, surrounded her belly with his arms and put kiss on her neck. "Why don't you go shower while I take care of James and the breakfast?"

"Sounds good." She answered, getting up and walking to the bathroom.

He got up from bed too, putting his clothes on, shouting. "Are you dressing up, Jimmy? Jimmy?...Jimmy!" He was buttoning the shirt and walking to James' bedroom when he found him sleeping over his bed. "Jimmy, you gotta awake up!"

"Idon'twannagotoschool!" He muttered again.

Rick turned him face up and stripped his pajama's pants and putting on him the pants and the socks. "This is what happens when you want to stay up late."

"I wanna sleep…"

"So do I, kiddo." He sat the son on the edge of the bed, taking off his shirt. "I barely slept tonight, your mother barely slept as well." James fell back on bed as he was putting the shoes on him. Rick then pulled him up, grabbed him in arms and then put him on the ground. "Come on, go watch some cartoons. I'll be giving you breakfast in a while." He wasn't hearing the shower water running, so he knocked on the bathroom's door, asking. "Kate?"

"I'm good." She awoke up startled, sitting on the lid of the toilet seat. "I'll take a shower." She got up holing the washbasin.

Castle walked to his bedroom again putting the belt and the coat. Then on the kitchen he prepared the coffee while putting slices of buttered bread on the toaster. He filled a bowl with cereals and milk and James sat at the table, eating gloomily.

Beckett finally showed up on the kitchen, a bit more awaken, grabbing a toast and the cup of coffee, taking a seat next to her husband who was doing the same.

"Oh, good morning everyone." Martha greeted in a humming, dressed up in her colored and extravagant clothes, feeling full of energy. "Good Lord," She exclaimed looking at their faces. "you look like zombies!"

"Morning, Martha." Kate answered, drinking and smelling the coffee on an attempt to awake up.

"Morning, mother." Rick greeted as well. "Looks like you had a good night of sleep."

"I did…unlike you all." Martha peeked to her grandson, almost sleeping with the face inside the bowl. "You're always so energetic, kiddo. Hello?"

Beckett's phone rang, making James startle and drop the spoon, looking up. "Beckett…Ok Espo, we'll be leaving James at school and then we'll meet you there. See you in 15."

Beckett finished the coffee in a sip, Castle swallowed the rest of the toast he was eating and James ate the cereals as fast as he could. Rick walked to the coat hanger, helped Kate put on her jacket and put on his too. He walked back, kissed his mother's cheek and said goodbye while Beckett picked up James in arms, still half way to the door.

"Ah," Martha groaned when the three left. "they're always running!" She took a seat by the counter and enjoyed the breakfast.

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So, this is another chapter. I've got some ideas going on, I leave you some tips, for example, writing about a poker night, a Lanie and Kate night out, the family leaving to a Martha's play, and so on.

Updates will be made as soon as there's a next chapter to be posted.

**So, I'll love to keep hearing your suggestions and I'll love to write them as well. So, let me hear from you and your opinion.**


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, apparently I'm loving writing too much! This episode goes back to Rick and Kate first months of marriage. We get to see jealous Beckett, who I love...and some girl talk between Lanie and Kate, which I love even more!

But, don't worry, I'll be bringing the drama too! This won't be just cute and pretty chapters. I promise to make this story fair and balanced...

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"She's on my house!" Kate mumbled, offended.

"Girl, that's not just your house!" Lanie said on the other side of the line.

"Ok, fine, it's even worst: she's at _our_ house! Gina is here!"

"Kate, she's his publisher-"

"She's with _my _husband. They're locked on the office! He's locked on the office with one of his ex-wives!" She ran closer to the door of the office, stood there listening for a few seconds and then ran back to the bedroom, whispering. "I can hear them giggle!"

"Kate, they're working! Don't stress out! Don't you trust him?"

"I trust my husband, not that blonde bimbo!" Kate ran the hand through her hair and allowed herself to take a breathe. "I don't like her around…"

"Honey, you got nothing to worry about. Castle is crazy about you and he'll never allow any other woman to move on him."

"Yeah, I know, but we both also know that he has always been a women lover, a flirter, a womanizer-"

"Katherine Beckett, you shut your mouth right now for your own sake or I smack you through the phone! Are you hearing the nonsense you're saying?"

Kate sighed deeply and fell back on the bed. "Am I sounding that much crazy?"

"You're sounding like the control freak you were years ago!" Lanie laughed, breaking the ice. "And you sound just like a woman in love. But you got nothing to worry about, girl. Let them finish their work and then grab the man and drive him crazy!"

"I think I can do that…" She smirked, curling her hair around her finger.

"Obviously you can! Now, put yourself back together and forget about his ex-wife."

"Thanks, Lanie."

"Girl friend, that's why I'm here."

"I'm sorry for calling you out of the blue, I don't even know if you were doing something."

"Oh, girl, forget about it. I was in the middle of something that apparently is already over!" She said with a suggestive tone of voice, but not to Beckett. She heard a male voice on the background saying. "Well, now it's a bit too late to fix it!"

"Lanie, is that…Javi?" Lanie answered with silence, making Beckett covered her mouth and blush. "I am so sorry-"

"Oh, don't be sorry, honey. This was away over before you called me!" Esposito mumbled again to Lanie, reacting to her commentary but Beckett couldn't understand what.

"The occasional booty call? When are you two work it out for real?"

"Oh, no girl, don't do that!"

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me! You don't try to turn the table on me. You are no example to talk about getting things worked out!"

"Ah,-" Kate only had to time to release an indignant sound.

"You took four years and if I hadn't given you a little push, you could not have this life you have now!" Kate didn't answer, making Lanie continue. "You're hearing me, Kate?"

"Shh," She ordered, listening to footsteps outside the bedroom. "she's leaving!"

"Well, girl, that's it. Jump on your man."

"Yeah, you bet I will. And you, fix it with Javi, you're listening to me?"

Lanie laughed willingly and then explained. "It's still to come the day when it's you giving me the advices! Bye, girl."

"Bye." Kate got up from bed and opened the door sneakily, watching them saying goodbye by the door. When he closed the door and turned around his eyes focused on hers. He had spotted her.

He beckoned her and she walked to the living room, trying to look carefree. "Did I already tell you that you look adorable when you're angry?"

"I'm not angry." She denied.

"Oh and when you're jealous-"

"I'm not jealous either!" She said, disguising a smile.

He pulled her by the hand closer to him in a quick move and whispered into her ear. "Nobody ever told you that lying is a bad thing?"

"You know I don't lie." She breathed against his mouth.

"Uhm," He groaned. "we're home alone…"

"Great!" She grinned, pushing him to the couch, throwing her body over his.

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I have a lot more ideas, yet, suggestions keep on being accepted!


	4. Chapter 4

I'm not sure if I'll be making more updates like this, every day, but I'll try to keep up with a certain rhythm. Right now I have 4 more one-shots half-done, so they'll show up here in the next days.

**I want to ask you to seriously review, at least this chapter**. It will mean a lot to me because I loved writing it and I think this should be covered on the show. Please, review, give me your sincere commentary because I have the feeling this will be my favorite update.

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Rick and Kate had been dating for almost a month now, and still, every time he tried to move forward, get one hand under her shirt or instill the mood for something more, she'd back down. It happened one time, he didn't give it significance, second time and he let it go, then third and fourth and fifth times, and he stopped.

He noticed something wrong with her and stopped any attempt. The last thing he wanted was to lose her and he'd never ever push her to do anything she didn't want.

She knew he had already sense she was not alright. She knew that letting go what she was holding back was the key to her own redemption. She was on the last step to say she was complete and finally healed.

Kate stopped in the middle of her bedroom and stripped out the shirt. She walked step by step, slowly, to the standing mirror and saw her own reflection. She raised the hand and touched herself with the tip of the fingers on her weak spot. Her scar…

Her wounded pride was there marked, a story was told in that little healed hole, salient and visible. Her own life was there trapped. If she could show it to someone else, it meant she could fully open to life. And she wanted it. More than being with Rick, she wanted to be with him, wholly and truthfully, without any fear.

It meant a lot more than opening her shirt and let him see her skin. It meant opening up her shirt and expose to him the only thing that made her feel vulnerable. And she was scared of his reaction…she was even scared of her own reaction.

He was almost sure of what was wrong with her. And he couldn't judge her. Kate was the strongest and the most independent woman he has ever met, but like everyone, she had a weakness. She never showed her fragility and that wound was excruciating for her. Not physically, not anymore. When she could show it to someone else, all of her insecurity and fear that she never showed would be gone.

But even he was worried. Seeing that wound would bring it all back. He'd see her getting shot therefore his eyes again, he'd watch her life drain out of her like he did in the ambulance, and he'd remember how helpless he felt.

Kate put on her shirt and grabbed the phone. Her voice came out muffled and slowly. "Hi…"

"Hi!" He answered enthusiastically from the other side.

"I…I was wondering if…Could you… come around?"

He noticed her voice and understood that something was going on. "Sure..."

They hung up without saying anything else. A few minutes later and he was knocking on her door. She opened the door and both just stared into each other. They talked in their own way…silently, just by looking into each other's eyes. They didn't share a kiss; he just walked in the house.

She closed the door and followed him. She faced him and tried to explain him why he was there, but she couldn't find anything to say. Instead, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to her bedroom. There, he sat on the edge of the bed and she stood up in front of him.

Kate took a deep sigh and unbuttoned, one by one the buttons of her shirt. She avoided looking into him at that moment and took off the shirt. To Rick, it all came back in a wave of feelings and it hushed all again.

He just stared at her and she found the courage to look at him too. It took them some time like that. None of them knew what to do. He decided to follow what his heart had just told him to do. He stood up, raised the hand and touched with the tip of the fingers her wound. He felt her body shake when he touched her.

He breathed, closed his eyes and placed a kiss over the scar. She exhaled deeply; her breath was heavy and sobbed, like if it was the first time she was breathing in years. Her heart quickened, she felt breathless and tears ran down her cheek. Those simple seconds the kiss took felt like a lifetime moment for both of them.

He looked up at her face. The rare times she had broke down and cried in front of him were in times of desperation, but that moment was of relief. He took the hands to her face, cleaned her tears with the thumb and locked his lips on hers. She didn't have any reaction; she just could feel his lips on hers.

"I love you, Kate. And I love you for everything you are…This just makes you even more extraordinary."

Never had a man looked into her eyes and said something like that. Never a man had been so honest and truthful to her. Never a man like him had been on her life…

She grabbed his hands from her face and guided them to her upper body, making them run her bare skin, up and down, slowly. He looked at her and her eyes said it all. She was the Kate Beckett she wanted to be. She was healed, she had let go everything that was holding her back…

Neither of them forgot that night, the night when they first made love to each other.

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**Please, let me know your opinion, at least on this one...**


	5. Chapter 5

**I should have told you that I like reviews...! Don't hold them to yourself, I want to read them!**

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"Should we be worried when looks so attentively at her?" Beckett commented with Castle, both peeking on their daughter's bedroom. James was holding the wooden bars of the crib, looking at his 5 weeks old sister sleeping.

"No, I think not. But, I'll talk with him." Rick entered the bedroom and knelt next to him. "Jimmy, buddy, you like your baby sister?"

"Yeah…" Then the kid searched for his father's eyes and in a very serious and concerned attitude, he put his hands over his father's shoulders and asked him. "But where is her off button?"

"Her off button?"

"You didn't tell me she was going to cry all the time!"

Beckett covered her mouth with the hand and muffled the laugh while her husband wide opened the eyes."She's not a toy, Jay-Jay. Johanna doesn't speak yet, so she cries to eat, and when she's in pain or when she needs her diapers changed."

"She's noisy, dad. I can't sleep at night!"

"I can get you some ear plugs, okay?" He grabbed him in arms and walked to the chair where Kate breastfeeds the baby girl and sat him on his lap. "But apart from being noisy, you don't have a problem with her, right?"

"She doesn't speak or walk or play."

"Well, babies don't born knowing all those things. They'll learn with time and she'll need her big brother to help her. You think you can help her?"

"I'll help my baby sister…as long as she doesn't touch my toys!"

"I think that won't the biggest problem, Jimmy."

"How long will it take for her to learn all those stuff?"

Rick sighed, feeling a tear wanting to rush down his face. He was holding on his arms his five year-old son, and it felt it was just yesterday when he first held him in his arms. "Faster than you believe. She'll grow up faster than you believe…Soon enough you'll be begging that she was still being a baby and for not be dragging you by your hair or biting you."

James looked at him with a shocked expression on the face. "She'll be doing that?"

"Oh boy…" Castle mumbled, regretting what he just said.

Johanna awoke up and whimpered. James' first reaction was to look at her, then look back at his father and then ran out of the bedroom, hiding on his.

"Diaper change." Kate said, putting Johanna on his lap. "It's your turn. In the meantime I'll show Jimmy the good side of having a sibling!"

"Ok big girl, let's see what you have for daddy!" He said, already putting her away, uncomfortable with the diaper's smell.

"Jimmy, can I talk with you?" Kate said calmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't want any more baby brothers or sisters." He said, his voice coming from inside the closet.

She opened the wardrobe and found him hiding between the shirt and pants. "Come here and talk with mom." She sat on the edge of the bed and bit by bit he walked to there and sat next to her. "Tell me better this story of not wanting more brothers or sisters because I didn't get it."

"Well, I was named after Grandpa Jim and Johanna after Grandma Johanna. It's only left a baby to be named after Grandma Martha, and I don't want more siblings."

Kate had to smile at her son's intelligence and pulled him for a hug. "Oh, baby, mom and dad are not planning to have more babies…I cannot deny that it can happen, but we're not planning to have more babies."

James was quiet for a while but then his eyes started getting teary and he looked at his mother, with the lower lip trembling, almost crying. "You and dad don't want more babies because I misbehave?"

"Oh, no, Jimmy." She hugged him tightly against his chest, trying to not make him cry. "Who told you that?" Kate pulled her son to her lap, cleaning his tears. "You are a little boy just like every other. You put on your fuss once in a while like every kid does, but apart from that, you're a very good boy. A lot of parents would want having such a good boy like you as their son, you know?" She stroked his hair and put a loud and long kiss on his face. "You'll always be mom and dad baby boy. A very smart, wise, frisky and loving baby boy… So, we're good?" The boy nodded and clean better the face to the shirt sleeves. "Good."

Rick had been hearing almost the whole conversation and entered the bedroom. Kate picked her up Johanna from Rick's arms and started playing with her, making the baby girl smile. He sat next to them and suggested. "Uh, why don't we take advantage of mom's last week home and go to the park?"

James jumped to his father lap, kneeling over his thighs and speaking to his face. "Can we take the ball and play there?"

"Sure, why not?"

The kid's eyes sparkled and he jumped out of his lap as quickly as he had jumped in, opened the closet and sat on the floor taking off his sneakers and put on the cleats. Then he peeked under the bed, under Kate and Rick's look, and put a red cap on the head and held the soccer ball under the arm. "I'm ready to go!"

"Have you considered dressing up this fast by the morning, mister?" Castle joked, carrying him over the shoulder, while he was kicking up and giggling, amused.

"Boys will forever be boys!" Kate sighed to her daughter, walking to her bedroom to put a hat and a cardigan on her, while father and son were waiting for them by the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**I give you some cuteness and some relation between Beckett and Castle's kid and his uncles: Esposito and Ryan! I hope you enjoy it! Mentions to aunt Lanie, Captain Iron Gates as well and baby Johanna is born already. On Lanie and Esposito's relationship I give you a question mark...**

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"Ok, first goal you ever score it'll be for Uncle Javi, right?" Esposito asked James having him sat over his desk. "'Cause I let you play on my DS and beat my high scores!"

"No, no, no!" Ryan mumbled, spinning the chair around. "First goal will for me because I steal your DS and let him beat your high scores!"

James looked the two men calmly and then denied to their face. "No and no. My first goal is already promised to Aunt Lanie."

"You're a sold out, kid, did you know?" Esposito said, pouted, putting him in the ground.

"And I'm not giving you Javi's DS again!"

"Do you still come and see my game on Saturday?"

"I'll see if I have time in my schedule for you." Esposito said, sounding mad and then laughed. "Of course we'll be there, kiddo." He got up and walked to the break room to get a coffee for him.

James touched Ryan's arm and whispered. "Can I play on his DS?"

Ryan leaned back on his chair, opened the second drawer of his desk and took out of it the grey game console and gave it to him. James sat on his father chair and focused all his attention on the game. "Have you asked Uncle Javi if you could play?" His mother asked him, sitting at the desk.

"Uncle Kevin gave it to me…I guess I can play." Beckett sighed and didn't care about it.

Castle showed up and saw his chair occupied. He grabbed his son and sat him at his lap, and in just a few seconds he was playing with him. "Left, left, left! Take the left, here!"

"Ah!" The kid flinched. "There are too many!"

"Cut them! Slay them! Come on, fast!" Castle was as excited playing as James, pressing the buttons with him. "Walk back, I kill them!"

"I thought you had come to help me finish paperwork so we could have dinner out…Just the two of us!" Beckett said, not taking the eyes of the papers.

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten the dinner!"

"But you're not helping, either!"

"I'm entertaining Jimmy, so you can work!" He didn't look at her, but he definitely felt she was giving him the look. "Buddy, why don't you play alone," He said, putting the child up on his feet. "while dad helps mom with the papers?"

Beckett handed him a folder that he opened and started filling in. "Don't forget we still have to take him home so your mother watch him and Johanna tonight."

"I think we can make it all in time."

Castle, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito were doing their paperwork and James just looked for a place to sit, and he didn't found one better than asking Esposito to sit him over his desk again. Everyone was busy doing what they were doing when Captain Gates walked out her office and turned to Castle.

"Mr. Castle, I thought I had told you that this is a precinct, not a kindergarten. You cannot bring your son here, unless it is an emergency situation." Castle put down the pen and raised the look at her attentively. "Same goes to you too, detective."

"Oh," Castle started, pulling his charming personality. "but he came here to ask something to the boys."

Jimmy took his father's words and his attitude. "Captain Gates, I just came to ask them to come to my football game. I didn't mean to come and bother anyone."

"If that's all then it's okay." She said, squeezing his cheek.

When Gates walked to her office again, James smirked and kept playing. "Great saving, kid. I'm proud of you!" His father congratulated him.

"Really mature of you, Rick, using your son as a cover. Really mature of you." Beckett mumbled.

"What was I supposed to do?" He got up from the chair and leaned near her. "She _still_ doesn't like me that much!" He emphasized in a deeper tone of voice. He put a kiss on her cheek and she looked at him sideways.

"I'm at work." She stated firmly. "I thought we had talked about this."

"Sorry!" He said, afflicted. "Let's just finish this and have dinner…in peace with each other!"

"I'm not angry with you. Just do your work, ok?"

Castle nodded promptly and continued filling in the report as Esposito and Ryan were muffling giggles. Castle looked back, rebuking them with the eyes, but they didn't cease on giggling.

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**Reviews anyone?**


	7. Chapter 7

**The first dramatic chapter. Please comment on it. I advise that people with higher sensibility may be shocked with the chapter. I just advised...**

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Castle was taking Jimmy to a doctor's appointment, so he wouldn't be able to pick up Johanna at the kindergarten. Beckett had to it herself and take her to the station until Castle was back and take her home with him. She pictured a calm afternoon, Johanna sitting at her father's chair, drawing, while she was finishing the paperwork she, Ryan and Esposito had for the next couple days. But nothing of that happened.

A man entered the floor, looking for Detective Beckett. He demanded her to open a case that had been solved for three years now. Beckett and her team had only assisted on that investigation, being almost impossible for Beckett to fulfill that man's request. But, even though he couldn't quite explain why he was doing it, he didn't quit. He wanted, at all costs, that the case could be re-opened. He claimed his wife's death was random, that she was a love of a person and that no one could have ever murder her. Truth is Kate remember the case in a glimpse and remembered exactly what happened. His wife was everything but a love of a woman.

She had cheated on her husband more times than the ones that are possibly accepted. She bribed her own sister, threatening her to lean her money or else she'd call social services and take away her daughter. Worst was that her sister was a single mother, with two jobs, struggling to give the best life to her daughter, but she didn't seem to care. She had debts everywhere, got involved with the wrong people and ended up dead with a shot to the chest.

The moods eventually got exalted and Beckett couldn't find a way to send the man away. He knew about everything his wife had done and yet, he was there, arguing like he had all the reason in the world. Captain Gates was observing the whole scene from her office, knowing that the Detective would solve the situation. Someone who was not enjoying the all screaming was Johanna. She was seeing that man mistreating and annoying her mother. She got up, walked to him and punched him in the groin.

"Leave my mom alone!" She yelled.

"Johanna!" Beckett yelled back, looking at her daughter.

The man mumbled, grabbing the hurting area. "You little brat!" And then he slapped her face with the back of his hand. Beckett didn't have any other reaction then push the man with all her strength. Johanna fell on the ground, crying.

Ryan and Esposito got up from their chairs at all speed, ready to beat on the guy when Gates stepped out her office and shouted. "Everyone stops immediately! Detective in my office, now! And Detective Ryan, bring that man as well!"

Beckett's first move was to pick up Johanna in arms and calm her down. Esposito then held her after Ryan took the man to Gates' office and came from grabbing some ice. Johanna was sobbing, sweating and crying profusely sitting on Esposito's lap while Ryan was slowly putting the ice against her cheek and everyone else was staring.

When Beckett entered Gates' office, she and the man had already had a first talk.

"I'm pressing charges, Captain." The man affirmed, furious.

"With all due respect, Sir, but you're pressing charges against a five-year-old?"

"Against the mother! If she could educate correctly that brat-"

"Whoa, first you-" Beckett got up from the chair, ready to beat on the man.

"Detective!" Gates raised her voice, making Beckett understand she needed to be quiet. She sat on the chair again, waiting for the decision. "You are the one who's on the worst situation here. You walked into a precinct, demanding a case re-opening and you physically assaulted a minor-"

"After she beat me too!"

"You have no rights, Sir. The best you can do is walk away without my Detective formally accuses you."

"Then I may as well do, since this is the kind of system we have!" The man let the door beat behind him, walking to the elevator.

"Take your daughter home, Detective. If something serious happens to Johanna in consequence of that man's action, you let me know. He'll have pressed charges in the name of the NYPD by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Captain, but I think she's gonna be okay." She sighed, looking through the glass at her daughter, surrounded by Ryan and Esposito.

Nothing serious happened to Johanna apart from the swelling and the hematoma that covered her left cheek. Later in that same day, Captain Gates got a call from a psychiatric center apologizing for any trouble Lloyd Jefferson could have caused. Lloyd was the man who had been earlier on the precinct. It was explained to her that after his wife death, he developed psychiatric problems and had already escape the center several times, therefore any charges pressed against the man would not be taken to account.

Beckett felt bad for the man, she did, but she was hurt with his action. Deep down, she forgave him but she refused herself to do it just because he has problems of some kind. For her, that was not an excuse. Never her or Rick had or would ever raise a hand against their kids. What right had someone else to do it?

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**Like I asked: review on the FIRST dramatic attemp...**


	8. Chapter 8

**I apologize if people got somehow shocked with the previous chapter, because I was raised by my parents according to the "slap education". Well, but I make it up with this cute chapter. **

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04:39. Rick opened his eyes, without any kind of forcing.

He simple knew it was 04:39 and that it was time to get up and prepare the baby formula for Jimmy. It had been is routine for the last weeks and he started getting used to it.

Father and son had already got use to the routine. Every time Rick got the bedroom, Jimmy was already sat holding the crib bars, alone in the dark, but silently waiting. He turns on the light and he squeaks, happily.

"Hi, buddy." He grabbed the six-months-old baby in arms, dressed up in a short sleeved navy blue romper suit. He sat on the rocking chair and sat him over his legs. He put the feeding bottle on his mouth and Jimmy grabbed it as well, weakly.

Eventually Rick stopped holding it and Jimmy stretched into a comfortable position, leaning his head on his belly, sucking soundly. He stroked his brown hairs while speaking. "Look at you, big boy, drinking on your own. You're growing up too fast…I want to keep you this tiny for more years. Now you're like this, tomorrow you're starting school, getting the first girlfriend, graduating and then you move out the house…You can't leave mom and dad this fast, kiddy. You're hearing me out, glutton?" When Jimmy was finish feeding, he walked around the bedroom with him in arms. "Now give me a big burp!" The kid eventually burped and he looked at his face, saying. "That was a really big burp!"

Without any other expectations, and as part of the routine, Rick put a kiss on his cheek and he rested his head on his father's shoulder. Jimmy took his hand and covered Rick's mouth with it. He grabbed his small hand on his and kissed the inside of it. "Now it's time to go to sleep again." He laid him down on the crib and he stretched his arms. "Next time you'll be seeing mommy. But that's by the morning." He snuggled the blanket to him and looked into his greenish eyes once again. "Night-night, Jimmy."

He turned off the lights and went back to bed. He lied on bed and cuddled Kate on his chest. "You got up, didn't you?" He whispered, but she didn't answer back. He shook her playfully. "I know you're awake."

She turned around, being face to face with him. "Yeah, I got up…It's just…you're so cute around him."

"I'm not cute when I'm not with Jimmy?"

"No. Not even a little." She lied, turning around again.

"Liar! You're lying!"

"Are you hearing that?" She lifted up her head and heard something being shaken. "I think it's Jimmy." She got up, wrapping Rick on the bed sheets and turned on the baby's bedroom lights. She found him sitting on the crib, shaking its bars and walked to him. "Hi, Mr.. What you doing?" He swung the head and looked at her. "No, no. You can't come and sleep with mom and dad." Jimmy swung the head again. "You sleep in your bed, mom and dad sleep on their bed." She looked better into his eyes and picked him up in arms. "It's the last time."

"Massage night, uh?" Rick mumbled when she entered their bedroom with their son in arms.

"Make room, dad!" She joked as she laid Jimmy on bed.

"He's gonna kick my back, you know…?"

"And I'll get head butts to the chest. Live with it!" While they were mumbling, sleepy, Jimmy was well awake, lying face up between them.

"You were the one who brought him!"

"You have the couch."

Rick sighed and looked at his son. Neither he nor Kate could resist him. "Back kicks it is! Night…"

"Night…"

He waited until his wife fell asleep to do what he wanted. She needed to awake up to go to work and needed to have a good night of sleep, unlike him who was going to stay home with Jimmy for at least another month until they'd enroll him in a daycare and he could go to the station again.

When she awoke up by the morning both were sleeping face up and Jimmy was sleeping and drooling over Rick's chest. He had put him over him so he wouldn't disturb her. Kate grinned and groped the bedside table for her phone and took a photo. That moment was just too adorable to not record it.

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**Review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there, people! I leave you here a cute family moment so you can enjoy it. I'm loving writing these one-shots, but you gotta give me your feedback, so I can know what you think about this...**

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Rick didn't enter home. He opened the door, put a kiss on the son's head, told him to behave and drove back to the 12th. In a few hours, he'd be picking up Johanna from kindergarten as well and just then he'd go home along with Kate.

"Hey kiddo!" Martha greeted her grandson who had just entered home and dropped the schoolbag in the way to the couch. He lied down over the couch next to where she was sat. "What's wrong?"

"Tomorrow's Career Day at school, but I don't know who to choose."

"Well, what's the difficulty?"

"Everyone I know has a cool job. Dad's a writer, mom, Uncle Ryan and Esposito are NYPD detectives, Aunt Lanie is ME and you're an actress. I can't choose!"

"Uhm, aren't you forgetting anyone?"

"Grandpa James…" He said thoughtful, getting up and sitting.

"Yes. Why don't you give him a call and tell him about it?"

"I have a better idea, Grams. Follow me." He pointed his head and squinted. Martha recognized on James' action her own son, Richard. The eight-year-old kid grows everyday looking more and more with his father. He then progressed, explaining his idea. "What you think?"

"I think it's a beautiful idea, Jimmy. You just need to talk with your mother first. You know it is a delicate subject."

"I know…" He said on a sigh.

"But talk with your grandfather too." Martha reached the phone and started dialing the phone number. "It's also something that concerns him."

Martha got up and went to her bedroom while Jimmy was on the phone with his grandfather. She then showed up with two scripts, knowing he'd want to rehearse some scenes, to help her for her next play.

"Grams? When it will be the best time to tell my mom about it?" He asked bending over the back of the couch, when Martha walked in the living room again.

"Tonight at dinner. But, before we make this same dinner," She showed him the scripts. "do we rehearse some scenes?"

"Only if I get to help with the dinner."

She threw a script over the couch. "We have a deal. Page 23."

The two went over a couple of scenes before going to the kitchen to prepare the dinner for the rest of the family. It was a bit after seven o'clock when Rick opened the door and Kate entered right behind him, bringing the three-year-old Johanna by her hand.

They exchanged the greetings and kisses and gathered around the table to have dinner. Jimmy seemed to be nervous to bring such issue to the conversation but his grandmother kept giving him signs so he'd move on.

"Mom? Remember when I said that tomorrow is the Career Day at school?"

"Of course I do."

"You chose dad, didn't you?" Castle claimed boastful.

"I couldn't choose anyone, but I made my mind, I hope you don't get angry at me."

"Why would I get angry at you, baby?" Beckett asked. "You choose whoever you want."

"Yeah…" He sighed deeply and finished. "I called Grandpa James and asked him if he could go to school tomorrow."

"That was very sweet of you." Kate wasn't getting her son's point. She thought he had actually invited her father to talk about how it's to be a retired Physics teacher. Rick, on the other hand sensed Jimmy didn't meant quite that. He knew he was holding something back.

"Come here." Rick called, dragging back the chair. He put the spoon inside the small bowl with ice cream and sat on his father lap, at the top of the table, right next to his mother. "You can say it. No one will be angry."

"I asked him to go there and talk about Grandma." Kate sobbed, hiding the tears that forcedly wanted to drip down her face. "Mom?" He asked, taken aback. Rick put him down and he walked to her, hugging her. "You're okay with it?"

She put a kiss on his cheek and hugged him again. "I'm more than okay with it. I'm proud of your decision…And she'd be proud of you too. You are the sweetest little boy I've ever met, you know?" The detective returned then to herself. "Now, let's finish eating, alright?"

Jimmy walked to his seat and kept eating. Rick reached for Kate's hand and held it tightly on his, smiling at her. Then both took a look at their kids. They were proud of the two amazing kids they were raising, and they never got tired of telling them exactly that: that they're proud of whom they are and that they love them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok, I'm not gonna survive until next week. It's Castle and NCIS: Los Angeles, and I won't handle it, and, and... sorry. Here's a new chapter of my fanfiction...Reviews please?**

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Castle had been sat by the desk all day. Those last days had been a crazy twirl, sending the last pages of the new Nikki Heat novel, to be launched on the Fall, getting them back for revision, sending them back only to receive them again. He felt he was going insane. Every year he seemed to forget how it's to feel the deadline pressure over him. But this year was different. The book was done, he loved what he wrote, the publisher loved it too, but he didn't know what to write on the dedication page.

He just didn't know what to do. He stared at the blinking cursor for hours, waiting for something to come up to his mind. But, nothing. While he was motionless, staring at the screen, his mother was running around the house, frenetic and unbridled. It was the night of a play, a very important play. Her students were doing a representation of one of her scripts and headhunters were going to be there. Critics and important actors were going to be there, and Martha wanted her play to be the best they have ever seen and wanted her students and her school to be recognized.

The bell rang, Castle heard it as a background noise, ignoring it, away from the world and his mother ran to the door. "I open up." Martha was happy and nervous all at the same, hugging the woman somehow enthusiastically and inviting her in. "Oh, Kate, dear, come in. I was just leaving for my play."

"Oh, that's good. Good luck."

"Thank you, darling. Richard has been stuck at the office all day, please take him out there." Before leaving through the door, she spoke over her shoulder. "Have fun you two, kids!"

The hurricane Martha Rodgers left the house and her son thought of the silence that had settle in. He raised his look at Beckett, leaning on the doorframe with the arms crossed over the chest. "You know, I'm really hungry and I'm on short time. We've been delaying this dinner for days…" She poked him, seeing he had forgotten their dinner.

"Yeah, on the dinner…" He got up and embraced her hips on his arms. "I basically forgot about it. I've been stuck with work all day, and I didn't make the dinner I said I'd been doing for us."

"I noticed that."

"Uhm, we can always order in Chinese food." He tried to make her forget that, kissing her, one slowly kiss at the time.

"Sounds good." She grabbed the phone and put it in her hand. When he was done doing the ordering she made of her fingers ran up to his unbuttoned shirt collar and played with it. "This case we're working on is being demanding and I'll have to start working really early at the station. And you have work, too…"

"What is your suggestion, detective?" He asked gallantly, making her lean against the office's wall.

"Obviously I won't be staying for the night, and they take some time delivering the food…"

"Cheeky side, I like that!"

"I didn't mean going that far…I really miss being with you."

"I miss you too." He placed a soft kiss on her lips and rested his forehead on hers. "We aren't together in days." Work had been getting between them two and right now they just wanted to have a bit for themselves for a kiss here, a touch there, a little teasing. They just wanted to exchange some affections and be together.

Eventually the dinner arrived and they had their meal. After dining, they kept on enjoying the few time they had, until she had to leave.

"You sure you don't want me to go with you?" He said by the door.

"No. I can drive home by my own."

"I just don't like the idea of you being alone at these late hours."

"I'm a cop. Late hours and dark nights don't scare me!"

"But they scare me when you're out there…" He confessed.

She stroked his face and put a kiss on his lips. "I'll be alright." She then smiled, to cheer him up.

"I know." She opened the door to leave, but he pulled her back. "One last thing."

He sucked on her neck, making her pulling him back, giggling. "You're gonna make me wear a turtleneck tomorrow!" She claimed, predicting the hickey that would show up on her neck.

She looked back before leaving and he said to her, who was trying to look angry. "Love you too." He leaned on the edge of the door, watching her walk away.

He entered home and walked to the computer. He knew exactly what to write on the dedication page.

_To a beautiful, extraordinary and complex woman, for healing and for loving me._

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**Is this cute enough to earn your reviews?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi everyone, it's been a little while. Well, I give you another one-shot, and the is "yes" to the question your mind will be probably making by the end of this chapter.**

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Kate's life had just turn upside down, but in a good way. She had moved in Castle's loft three months and got married to him last month. She was looking at her wardrobe, looking for something to put on for her upper part. Even her clothes were going to change. In just a couple more weeks and she wouldn't fit in half of her clothing. She looked back when she heard the bedroom's door closing.

"Oh my goodness," Rick said on a deep sigh and with a smile on the lips. He was giving Kate this look full of truthfulness, innocence and amazement that just made her smile back at him. "you are absolutely gorgeous."

"I don't know what to say." She replied, being seriously speechless. Just the simple gaze he was giving her warmed her heart.

"Why would you say anything?" He walked to her and kissed softly her lips. "You _are_ the most beautiful woman in the world, and now…" He knelt in front of her, placing his warm hands over her four month belly bump. "you just seem to have a glow…"

"Would you get up from the floor, please?" She asked.

"Why?" He looked up at her.

"Because you're being all cute and adorable and sweet and tender and I'm under control of hormones and I don't wanna start crying along with you!"

"I'm not crying!" He said, getting up.

"You're just all teary-eyed!"

"Well, but I just think this is really touching and profound that you're carrying our son-"

"Or daughter," She remarked.

"Our baby," He corrected. "in your belly."

"You know, since you're all this calm, you should talk with Ryan."

"I know. Poor guy, he's freaking out!"

"And Espo isn't helping that much. Jenny's delivery date is next week, and I don't think Ryan will handle it."

"I'll talk to him right after we go to the precinct after the doctor tell us we're expecting a boy too." Beckett rolled her eyes at him and he continued. "This is a sign!"

"No, that's a hunch!" She poked back, putting on her shirt.

"And, in your job isn't a hunch a good thing?"

"First, you call it a hunch, I call it suspect. And second, a detective bases his investigation on proofs, concrete material. Evidences!"

"You wanna bet on me being right?" He asked, crossing the arms over the chest.

"I'm not betting on our baby's gender." Beckett grumbled but then bit the lower lip; she could use it on her favor. "Ok, if we're having a girl, I want a grande skim latte with two sugar pumps, vanilla free!" Beckett didn't have a coffee in weeks, either because she was pregnant and couldn't abuse on it or because her morning sickness didn't even let her eat a single thing.

"Alright. And if we're having a boy all I wanna is to hear from you is this: _You were right, Rick, my wise and beloved husband that I married_-"

"Yeah you gonna be lucky if I stick with the _You were right part_!"

"Okay, I can live with it!"

"You're coming?" She said over her shoulder when leaving through the door.

On the doctor's office, when they heard the news, Castle just whispered at her, boastful. "Told you so!"

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**Reviews for this in character and yet cute chapter?**


	12. Chapter 12

**One more attempt on dramatic stuff. This one ends well...**

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"Hey, dad." Jimmy startled his own father entering the office. Castle had his head sank on the hands and the elbows over the desk. "What you doing?"

"I should have never taken that offer." He mumbled looking at him who sat in the chair in front of him.

"Writer's block?" He asked, with a mocking grin.

"Ok, your mother needs to stop telling you that kind of stuff!"

"It was Grams this time!" He smiled again as Castle rolled the eyes. "But what's the problem?"

"The problem is everything! I have to write the story based on the title 3 days in the city. What can I write based on this title for kids of your age?" Castle was desperate for an idea, and since he had to write a book for kids between the ages of 8 and 12, he was eagerly waiting for his nine-year-old son's answer.

"Well, I don't know, you're the writer!

"I cannot write a murder, Jim."

"Well," The kid leaned back on the chair and put the feet over the seat. "you could write about two kids who run away and get lost in the city or something."

"How can I do research for that?" Castle was really worst at ideas than he thought.

"In all those stories you've told me about your childhood, can't you find one as inspiration?"

"I never ran away with a girl for that long…or at that early age!"

"You'll come up with something, dad. Don't worry." He left the office with an idea in mind. His father wasn't nine-years-old anymore…but he was.

The morning after Castle just saw his wife walking in big steps towards him, clutching a piece of paper in her hand. She was coming from Jimmy's bedroom, who was taking too long to come downstairs and found the note over the bed. "What is this?" She spitted out.

"What?" Rick asked clueless.

"This!" She pressed the paper against his chest, angry. Rick grabbed it and read it.

_Mom, dad, Grams, Johanna:_

_I really like Nora and she told me the only way I can be her boyfriend is if we go live together like the adults do. So, I'm leaving home and we'll live together. Oh, and dad, I promise I can help you with your writer's block issue. Then I tell you everything about this._

"Oh, God no, he didn't…" He murmured, shocked. He then sought for Kate's eyes, telling her. "I swear God I didn't tell him to do any of this. Good news is he'll be back home in three days-"

"You gotta be joking, right?" She answered boiling in anger. "Your son runs away from home and this is the only thing you tell me?"

"No, obviously not. We have to report his missing, but all I'm saying is that I know he'll come back home in three days…"

"No, I'm not living this!" Tears rushed down Kate's face as she walked side by side. "Would you show some more concern about your own son? He's probably lost by now in New York City, among all the dangers and…" Beckett took a while to recover her breath. "And how did the hell he got off the house without we even notice?"

Beckett was walking around the house, calling the precinct, making Ryan and Esposito check for hospital entrances, making them look for something while Rick just sat on the couch. He lost control of his own soul; he couldn't see a thing, hear a thing, he didn't even notice the turmoil that was around the house. Bit by bit the guilt and concern that he didn't show at first started to struck him. It was his entire fault, as he thought.

Jimmy was now missing for 58 hours. The Castle's apartment was full of police officers, always taking care of occurrences and following new clues. Beckett wasn't part of the investigation but was always there with them. Martha was with her granddaughter, trying to keep her calm and away from everything. Castle was still mute, sitting on the edge of his son's bed, where Kate found him.

"Rick?" She called softly. "Rick, look at me," She ducked in front of him, cupping his cheeks. "this is not your fault. This isn't anyone's fault. This is just the act of a nine-year-old boy who just wants to help his dad because he loves him too much."

"How can you do it?" He asked, his eyes full of tears. "You're a cop; you know the chances of finding him keep decreasing-"

"I'm just his mommy now… I'm not a cop. They'll find him and the girl and they'll bring them home, safe and sound..." Beckett cried and put a kiss on his forehead. "They'll bring our baby boy back." She sat on his lap and rested her head on the crook of his neck and both stood like that for the next hours.

After 64 agonizing hours both Jimmy's and Nora's parents got the so waited news: they had been found. A woman said that she had seen two little kids matching Jimmy and Nora's description inside an abandoned building. When the police went there, they confirmed it were them. The two kids had been surviving on candy that they shoplifted and were found sleeping, sharing a blanket. Between so many emotions, the only thing the families wanted was to take their kids home. Rick and Kate were more concerned because Jimmy had a bruise to the arm that he hadn't explain yet how he did it.

Before leaving, Nora approached Jimmy, saying:

"Thank you for not letting me get hurt when the wooden beam fell."

"Always." He answered and blushed when she put a kiss to his cheek.

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**Reviews for Jimmy's extremely original answer? **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello beloved ones (a welcoming on a Martha Rodgers style), I've missed you! Here's another chapter...**

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Castle was lying face down on bed and Beckett was sitting over his rear, massaging him. He was moaning and trying to escape as she hardly pressed her fingers against his back and let the pomade lubricate his backside.

"Ouch, Kate! You're hurting me!"

"I have to! Stay still!"

"Do it slowly, please. Ouch! Ah!"

"If you didn't want this, you should know how to ice skate first!" He groaned again when she pressed him in the lower. "There, it's done." She got off him and sat on the edge of the bed, putting the bed sheet over him.

"How's the head bump?" He mumbled against the pillow.

Kate put carefully aside locks of his hair and rubbed the small bump with the thumb. "It's smaller now. I'm getting some ice to put over it. Stay lying down."

"That won't be a problem." He whimpered, not being able to move.

_Three days before_

"Hey, dad," Johanna climbed to her father's lap. He was writing on his laptop when she entered the office. "can we go ice skating?"

"I think tomorrow is mom's day off, so I think we could go. I don't ice skate in years, not since back on the days your mom and I were dating."

"That was _so_ long ago?" She asked him, putting her brown hair behind her ear.

"Uhm, let me see…It was eleven years ago, on a very very special day. It was the year of 2013 and I took your mom to the Rockerfeller Center on a November afternoon. On her birthday, actually, so it was November 17th. More than being her 34th birthday, I took her there with only one purpose: ask her the big question, if she wanted to be my woman for the rest of my life. The rink was empty, as I asked, and there were just the two of us. I was nervous; I was freaking out, in fact, but managed to look cool. I had the speech all prepared, the ring on my pocket and I had her. We put on the ice skates and she started to suspect why we were the only ones there, but I didn't answer any of her questions about it. We were going to circle the rink a couple of times while I'd be telling her the whole speech I had prepared for weeks and then I'd kneel before her and ask _Will you marry me?_"

"And what happened?" The seven-year-old asked expectant.

"Well, I don't know. I just remember awaking up in a hospital bed, having your mother next to me. Apparently as soon as I stepped in the rink, I slipped and fell back." Johanna cracked a laugh and he laughed along with her, remembering how nervous he was and having conscious of how clumsy he is. "But my day turned out even better." He smiled as if all the emotions had come back. "I proposed to your mother, she accepted and later that night she whispered into my ear _I'm pregnant_…That was one of the days that I can say I'll always remember until the end of my life… So, tomorrow, don't worry much if you see dad lying on the ice rink!"

"Dad, did I ever tell you that I love your stories?"

"Yes." He put a kiss on her head and hugged her. "Yes, you did. Now, shouldn't you be on bed already, Joey?" The girl put nodded, put a kiss on his face and then jumped off his lap. "Good night, little bear."

Like he warned Johanna, he fell while ice skating. He beat with head and back on the ice and ended up seeing his family skating, sitting on the benches holding a bag of ice to the head. Jimmy had found a friend from school and was skating around with him, so that left Johanna on her own with her mother.

"Last night I noticed you were peeking on the office." Johanna said at her mother.

"And what do you mean with that?" Beckett held her daughter's hand while both were circling the rink.

"You were giggling. I think dad's story wasn't quite like he told me."

"You know what? You're right. You wanna hear it as it is?" Johanna nodded eagerly, widening her greenish eyes. "Ok, it is true that we were here, all alone, but I already knew why. You know, your father is not very good on keeping things hidden, so I had already found that he had taken your Grandmother's ring for over a week. He was nervous, all shaking, he couldn't take the hand off the pocket, playing with the ring over and over again while we were skating." Beckett smiled, remembering his posture. "And then he froze. He just said _Will you_ and froze. I had to take the ring of his hand, put it on my finger and answer him _Yes, I do wanna marry you_. When I did it, he just slipped back like if I had pushed him. Up until today, I still don't know what really happened for him to fall like that." Beckett took a look at him and grinned when he waved.

"And then the hospital part? Is it true?"

"Yes, but he hadn't pass out. He just had a really big bump on the head, like he has now! And telling him that I was pregnant with your brother Jimmy was also true."

"Then why did he make fun out of it?"

Beckett stopped and ducked next to Johanna. "'Cause that's your father. Over the years, he had been retouching the story so it sounds more like funny Rick than clumsy Rick. I know he's still a bit regretted of not being able to finish the proposal, so I let him turn the story the way he wanted." Beckett's look got lost, feeling somehow sorry.

"But you liked it."

"I loved it. And you know why?" She got a negative nod from Johanna and explained. "Because it was your father, in the way he just is. And that's why I still love him after all these years."

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**I just noticed I love reviews, would you mind leaving me any?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, it got me by surprise that had passed four days since I last updated. Well, I give you a sweet and totally character's typical chapter. **

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Jimmy had his tonsils removed, and just like his mother, when she was nine, the little kid was feeling miserable. And just like her mother did, Beckett had taken the day off to spend it with him. But that was yesterday. Today, he was spending it with Castle, just the two of them, all alone.

Beckett knew Castle could have his crazy ideas, but she never really figured out how many things she'd reprimand whenever he's home alone with his son. Castle was worn out from the previous day. He had gone to his publisher and then he headed to the Old Haunt where he spent the whole day writing. Now, both he and Jimmy were still asleep, already missing breakfast and soon enough, missing lunch as well.

When he awoke up, he walked to his son's bedroom where he awoke him up too. "Hi, buddy. It's time to awake up." Jim whimpered, stretched out and rubbed the eyes. "How did you sleep?"

"Good." He said hardly, with a hoarse voice.

"You did?" He asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and kissing his hair. "And you're hungry?"

He nodded negatively; he was speaking the truth, but he didn't want to think of eating for the next couple days. Just yesterday, Beckett had made him eat soup. It wasn't hot, in fact, it was almost freezing cold, but to a four-year-old who had just got his tonsils taken out two days ago, everything sounded torturing. "Just thirsty."

"Ok, so let's give you a bath," He sat him on bed by pulling his hands. "then give you a cold cup of milk, the medication and then we're leaving to a really cool place."

"Where?"

"Oh, you'll get to see." Castle grabbed him in arms and carried him to the bathroom. Castle was proud of himself for making his son smile despite his pain. He was washing his head when he spiked out his hair with the shampoo and then put Jimmy in front of the mirror for him to see it and both shared a laugh.

After the bath was done, Rick made sure to bundle up his son so he wouldn't be cold. He put on him, besides the jeans and the sneakers, a t-shirt under a sweatshirt and on top of that he'd be dressing him a denim jacket as well. The two walked to the bathroom again. Rick sat his son inside the washbasin and dried his hair.

Castle put the sweatshirt's hood on Jimmy's head and sat him on the edge of the kitchen counter while served him a big glass of milk and a bowl of cereals for himself. "Come on, Jim, you gotta eat something."

"No." He moaned, putting the hands over the throat. "It hurts."

"Just one spoonful." He begged waiting for him to open the mouth to the spoon of cereals he had in front of his lips. "Just one. For me, buddy, come on." Jimmy opened the mouth and chewed the cereals slowly. "There you go, just one spoonful."

Castle convinced Jimmy to eat a few more spoons of cereals and then both left, walking to the bus stop. He wanted to show his son some of the things his mother never showed to him when he was a kid, one of which, a bus ride. He couldn't understand how the outside seemed so interesting because during the whole ride, Jimmy was gazing through the window, amazed, but Rick's inner child understood at some point, because once he realized, he was as fascinated as Jim, both looking, pointing and commenting the outside.

The ride eventually came to an end and both of them left the bus, Rick holding the tiny hand of his son on his as both were walking down the street. He knocked on a door while Jimmy was trying to read its sign, but the words were still difficult things for Jimmy to read. Yes, because Castle didn't hesitate on trying to teach his son read already. A man came to the door saying that they could go inside in twenty minutes, that had just arrived new books and they were still being put on the shelves.

Castle took then Jimmy to the park across the street. Jimmy saw an ice cream vendor and said, pulling Castle's jacket sleeve. "Dad? I'm kinda hungry now."

"A chocolate popsicle?" He proposed, knowing the obvious answer that would come out of his son's mouth.

Jimmy and Castle walked hand in hand around the park for a while until they found pigeons flying that area. The kid turned to his father and asked him. "Can we take one home?"

Castle smiled and let go his hand. "I tell you one thing: if you catch one, we'll take it home." Jimmy ran around, chasing the pigeons and Rick had a few laughs, and actually joined him too. After a while both were just running around on a tag game, amused.

"Oh," Martha snapped, looking back hearing the door closing above the noise of the mixer. "hello, darling, I didn't expect you home so early." She said kind of in an apology, looking at the kitchen counter.

"Neither had I expected to be home so early." Beckett said with a smile answering Martha's hug.

"I'm so sorry about this mess," The actress picked up a book from the counter and explained. "I'm trying out doing all this shakes."

"It's okay, Martha." Beckett giggled seeing the amount of glasses around the kitchen. "It's better than when Castle tries to make his breakfast's experiences!" Both smiled at each other and the detective listened carefully to an odd silence. "I know Jimmy's sick, but the house is surprisingly silent."

"Oh, Richard left early with James; I don't know where they went."

"I do. And I'm picking them up because it's getting late and I know those two will lose track of time."

Beckett stopped across the street of _Comicadia_ and could already see father and son inside, through the glass. Castle was sitting on the floor in the middle of the comic book store and Jimmy was sitting on the vee of his legs, both surrounded by comic books. The little kid was attentively hearing to his father as he was reading to him an _Elektra_ comic book, his mother's favorite heroine.

"Boys, let's go home?" She asked softly, kneeling in front of them. "And how did you got here anyway?"

"We came on the bus, and then we went to the park for an ice cream, and we chased pigeons and then we came here and read-" Suddenly Jimmy's hoarse voice and his sore throat didn't seem to bother him as he clung on Beckett's neck and spoke fast as Castle was putting the comic books on the shelves again.

"Take a breath, Jay-Jay!" Beckett said on a laugh. "Mom will love to hear all about your afternoon, but slow down. Apparently you two had a lot of fun."

"Obviously we did. I 'm pretty sure he loved a lot more today's afternoon than yesterday's with you!" Castle mocked, holding Jimmy's right hand and Beckett holding his left. The three left the store, walking as a happy family along the sidewalk.

"Oh, you just didn't say that!" She teased back.

Jimmy looked down and sighed. "Not again!"

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**For those who don't remember, _Comicadia_ was the comic book store to where Castle and Beckett went on the episode 2 of the fourth season.**

******Hope to hear from you through reviews!**


	15. Chapter 15

**An one-shot a bit darker by the beginning, but it ends well...**

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Beckett awoke up by the morning, calmly, by her own. She stretched out, satisfied with a good night of sleep and turned to her right side to face Castle. He was lying face down with the face turned to her, smiling in his sleep. She grinned and stroked his cheek. Beckett put there a kiss and felt bad for awaking him up because he looked too cute, but she was in need of some morning caressing.

"Awake up, sleepyhead." She whispered, lowering the kisses to his neck. Her hand was rubbing his broad back and she dragged her body closer to his, feeling something wet on the bed sheets. She peeked under them and shook, turning her husband face up. "Castle!" She yelled with tears emerging to her eyes. "Castle, talk to me!"

She was covered in his blood and his t-shirt was all stained over the wound on his chest. "Rick!" She cried out, not knowing what to do. She didn't know if she would press his wound, if she'd slap his face to awake him up or if to take her fingers to his neck and check for his heartbeats. She decided, scared, to do the last one and cried big fat tears, shaking him for not feeling anything. "No…" She whimpered. "No! No! Awake up, come on!" Kate held his face in both her hands and kissed his cold lips. All of him was cold and stiff. He was dead…

In that exact moment, Jimmy burst out crying out loud. Kate was in complete panic, totally lost. But she ran to his bedroom, marking the way with Rick's blood dripping down her body. She stopped even before entering Jimmy's bedroom; his crying was coming from there, but he wasn't in the crib. A man walked and stood back turned to the door, holding the one-year-old baby in arms. He was crying and screaming terrified. "Mom! Mommy!"

Kate was going to run to him but the man warned. "One step forward and he'll be making company to his daddy."

"He's just a baby, let him go. Let him go, please!"

"Kate! Kate!" She awoke up startled and yelling, being shaken in Castle's arms. "Kate, awake up." She hugged him when she opened her teary eyes. Beckett was breathless, covered in tears and sweat, sat over Rick's legs and clutching his t-shirt on her hands. "It's okay, it was just a nightmare."

"You're okay, you're okay." She repeated, groping his chest. She got up and ran just stopping nearby Jimmy's crib. She picked him in arms, who surprisingly didn't awake up with the velocity she pulled him out the crib, and hugged him. "And you're here. No one is taking you away, baby."

Castle found nothing better to do than hug them both. He was now the anchor and pillar of the family since Kate was on her weakest point. His big arms gave her the stability she needed, to know that she and their son were protected, and his words calmed her down. "We're all alright, and we're all together…nothing or anyone will change that. I promise."

"You do?" She sounded like a little child, but she didn't mind. She just wanted to hear him saying that.

"I never lie to you, Kate." He took Jimmy from her arms and lied him down on the crib again. He pulled her for a hug and heard her telling him about the nightmare.

"Maddox had killed you and he was taking Jimmy away."

"He is dead, Kate. He's been dead for long ago."

"It was just a year ago-" She kept crying.

"He died a year ago, in jail, where he had been for almost another year." He cleaned her tears with his thumbs and pecked her lips. "I know you already know this, but you're okay, everything is solved out. You got the closure you needed."

"That's the problem…I've waited so many years for it that it seems unreal."

"It's not. And I promise you: this past amazing year we had…" He said mentioning the fact that they had got married and Jimmy's birth. "I'll bend over backwards for the rest of my life to give you every year just like this last one. And you know I've always kept my promises. Remember what I told you when you first took me to your mother's grave?"

She nodded and looked at her mother's ring, now her wedding ring. "You kept your promise. You're the man you made me come back to life."

_Rick watched her from distance. She had been staring at her mother's gravestone for quite a while now, but she didn't know he was there, right beside her, just a few steps away. She had take him there, but said that first needed some time alone. He respected it, understood it, but now he needed to show her that all the trust and love they shared was true; that he wanted to be part of her family and wanted her to be part of his. He embraced her from behind softly, not startling her. She was playing with the necklace, making the ring twirl. He placed his hand under it and she smiled. He grabbed it and her left hand tightly and whispered into her ear. "I promise you one day I'll be putting this ring on your finger and I'll feel more alive than I ever did."_

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**Reviews?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone! This chapter is a speech. It doesn't have the quotation marks or any form of dialogue. Just Beckett's speech on a very special place about some very special people, for a very special occasion. Hope you guys like it!**

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There are inspiring people all over the world. Some are famous and recognized, some others are some sort of backstage actors that should be honored. I'm lucky to say that I met three people in my life that inspire me: my mother, Johanna Beckett, who we today tribute, for being a person who gave the voice to those who didn't have one, but mostly and particularly to me for being just my mother; Captain Roy Montgomery, the man from whom I took orders for years, a dedicated and outstanding police officer, a hero who gave his life for the city we protect and for its people; and the last but not the least, my husband, father of this child I'm carrying and the light of my life, Richard Castle, for teaching me and making me live everyday in a different way, and for being there for me just like I'm there for him.

If I tell you the story of how we're here today, we'll all share good laughs, and all because of my husband's natural and wild imagination. We were working this case, I think three, four years ago about a man who won the Lottery and Rick just kept insisting on knowing what I'd do if I won all that money. Sincerely, I've never really thought about it, but he tried to guess at anyways, and that's the part of the good laughs! Anyways, when the case was solved, he showed up by my apartment's door, saying he had figured out what I'd do if I won the Lottery: honor my mother's legacy. But he did it best: he had already taken care of everything. He mentioned creating the Johanna Beckett Foundation, a scholarship for law students, for them to study and to, like my mother, give the voice to those whose voice can't be heard.

This was my mother's life path: make sure everyone was treated the same way, with the same rights, under the same laws. She always told me to not discriminate, to be tolerant towards others and accept their differences. To speak the truth, she told me that there are no differences but diversity. We're all unique and that is what makes us remarkable human beings. Some of you in this room may have met my mother. Those can prove how true I'm speaking: she never let anything or anyone behind, she never backed down, she always fought for what she believed. I've been told by my father that I take after her on all this, and I could not feel anything else but proud. But more than highlight how she was at work, I want to tell you how she was when she wasn't tied to it.

Her favorite sentence, the one she just loved to tell me was: _I told you so!_ And I hated it with all my being! I've always been too proud to admit fear, weakness, neediness…ever since I was a little girl, and I hate to be wrong. I don't mind being corrected, but I hate being wrong. And my mother just knew it and teased me about it. Now I wish I could hear her only one more time saying _I told you so!_ I wish I could have her around just one day. I wanted her to see what my dad and I turned out, how much we've done, how we are… I wanted to hear her say one more time that she has pride on me. I need her to tell me that my life paths, for more incoherent they may have seemed sometimes, were the right ones, because that's how I think. For more mistakes I've done, I ended up having the kind of life I wanted, being the kind of person I wanted to be. And I owe it all to her, who made sure to gave me everything I've ever needed. Thank you mom for just being my mother.

Now that I talked about my mother, I think I should take a few minutes to talk about someone else who inspires me; someone who was tied to my mother even though they never met. It's no lie to anyone now that the case was turned public that Captain Roy Montgomery was involved in a twisted scheme, but let me tell you this much: when you're young, you're naïve and sometimes you don't think of the consequences of your actions. But for Captain Montgomery it was worst because he wasn't the one who started any action. He carried guilt for years, in silence. Guilt he shouldn't feel because he was involved in a wicked scheme and the only thing he did was knowing too much. Then I can only tell you one thing: if there's anyone in this room willing to donate for this cause and considers this man a traitor and not a hero, then please don't donate at all. Leave the room. Your presence and your money aren't appreciated. Because he sacrificed himself for a cause; he had to choose between protect his family or protect me. His wife and his three kids are alive, I'm alive... I think it's pretty obvious the reason I idolize him. He taught me that the best we can hope is to find a place to make our stand, and if we're very lucky, we'll find someone willing to stand with us. And I did find that someone…

And now you ask why I'm only hosting this dinner after four years. This I thank to the other man who inspires my life. Yes… him. The man who gave closure to the issue that had been haunting me for years. The man who fulfills every little bit of my life. The man who saved me and helped me more times than the ones I deserved. The man who's stubborn enough to dive in with me in anything. The man who's an extraordinary husband and is going to be an extraordinary father to this little boy. The man who I love with all my strengths and always will. Always…Thank you.

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**Tell me if you liked it on the form of a review! *.***


	17. Chapter 17

**A little bit of angst, but all ends good. I just can't be too mean!**

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Beckett entered home. All the lights were out, everyone was in bed for quite a few hours now and the house was silent. She put the keys over the kitchen counter, trying to make the less noise possible and tried to make her heeled footsteps imperceptible. Over the counter she also dropped two heavy books and walked to her son's bedroom, taking off the shoes on the way. She sat on the edge of the bed, snuggled the bed sheets to him and caressed his hair as he kept sleeping, serene.

"Hi, Jimmy. Mom missed you so much…Mom is missing you way too much, but I made up my mind. I don't wanna be away from you and dad anymore… I'll be around the house as I used to be before having this insane idea. This is killing me in every possible way, you know?" She took a deep sighed and leaned to leave a kiss on his forehead. "Love you my little brave prince."

Beckett walked then to her bedroom. She opened the door slowly and found Castle lying in bed, but she knew he wasn't sleeping. He snores when sleeping! Not much, but he snores, and she couldn't hear anything. She didn't even take off the clothes and slipped into the bed, leaning over his arm. Her teeth reached his left earlobe and she bit it, knowing too well that that is his weak spot. But he didn't react. "I know you're not sleeping…" She whispered.

"And you know right." He grumbled, annoyed. He got up and walked to the door, ready to leave.

"You seriously wanna be mad at this time of the night?" She said, making the words scratch her throat.

"Yes, because have you seen what time of the night it is?" He left the bedroom and in the heat of the moment he let the door bang behind him. He twitched, hoping for not having awake neither his mother nor his son.

Beckett let him leave because she didn't know what time it really was. She grabbed his phone over the bedside table and looked at the hours. The little white numbers showed 03:36. He was more than right to be mad. This was the hour she had been arriving home for the two last months. She got up and found him sitting on the couch with a glass of scotch already in hand. She took it away from him and sat next to him. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" He snorted. "When? Before you leave home in the dawn or after you arrive in the dawn?"

"Castle…"

"Don't…You know I'm damn right!"

"And you're damn right to be mad at me. Even I am mad at myself."

"Jimmy…he asks me why mom is barely at home…I can't find an answer to give to a five-year-old." He looked at her, trying to make her understand. That had already touched her, but what he was going to say next was going to affect her much more, pushing her to the extreme of making her cry and leaving him teary-eyed. "Do you remember the last time you kissed me and you actually felt it?"

"No." She murmured while tears fell down her cheek and her hands grabbed his face. "I don't remember kissing you, I don't remember being with you…I don't remember how good it feels making love to you. I don't even remember how much I love to stare at your eyes…" Beckett pressed her lips on his and they hold the position for a while. When they broke the peck, she was still crying. "I don't remember anymore. It all feels like a lifetime ago. Going back to finish my Law studies was the worst I could have ever thought of…"

Beckett came up with that idea some months ago. He supported her, with all heart and soul, like he always did. But neither of them realized how much her going back to study could affect their lives. Beckett was between work, college and home, but something was always being left behind. She couldn't miss her work obligations and once work was over, she was heading to study and unfortunately her home life was put in a second plan.

"What was the turning point?"

She lowered her eyes to her hands and his eyes followed hers as well. She cleaned the tears and pulled the wedding ring of her finger. "This…I remembered what I promised on our wedding day, and I realized I wasn't fulfilling my promise… I reminded our talks about" She grinned before she could even continue. "having another baby and I realized that we're running out of time."

He took the ring from her hand and put it in her finger, like he did almost six years ago. He grabbed her face and pulled her for a slow and deep kiss, saying. "It's never too late, Kate."

"We've been talking about it for two years now. I'm almost on my 40's-"

"What does that matter?" He said seriously, locking his blue eyes on hers. "As long as you believe, anything is possible."

Johanna Melanie Castle was going to be prematurely brought to the light of world in 35 weeks from that day, on a very peculiar place, by the hands of a very special person: her Godmother. But this is a story to be told later…

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**Wow, I'm amazed by how far this got. I started this as a pure joke, I was depressed because of the episodes we were getting, at the time was "The Limey". Really, look how far this has come!**


	18. Chapter 18

**The "to be later told" story of Johanna' s birth!**

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A cloudy, stormy and cold morning surrounded New York City. Almost three feet of snow piled up in the streets, making traffic be stuck and communications almost inexistent. And when Beckett thought the day couldn't go wrong, she got mistaken. She awoke up all alone in bed; Castle had left early in the morning to take care of his books' agreement, which was going to be renewed for more four Nikki Heat novels, after the first seven being so successful. But she already knew he wouldn't be home and it didn't bother her.

She had now to awake up Jimmy, take him to kindergarten and then drive to the station, for one more week of work. But she was getting worn out, day after day. Working long shifts and long nights with a child inside her was not easy, especially when she's only at five weeks from deliver and being this considered a risk pregnancy. Luckily, it was only left one more week and then she could rest at home. At least it was what she thought when she got up on this December's morning.

Everything was fine during the morning, and most of the afternoon. She was coming up with Lanie on the elevator from the morgue when it stopped, out of the blue. The generators that were supposed to back-up the electricity were working, but were only serving priorities, which didn't include the elevator systems. The two of them were calm, waiting for the situation to be solved when all of the sudden, Kate moaned and she whispered at her friend.

"Lanie, my waters just broke." Beckett leaned back, one hand under her big belly, the other grasping the metal bar. Her breathe became heavier and faster, which was not helping the circumstances. The only thing she could think of was that neither her daughter would be born on an elevator nor her husband was there with her. "Help me…"

What was supposed to take hours to happen started worrying Lanie; Beckett's contractions were too close as the minutes went by. She was already lying down on the floor, trying to hold the child inside her as long as she could, but it was impossible. She interrupted a meeting, telling Castle that their daughter was going to be born in that immediate time, and Lanie just rolled up the sleeves and got prepared to do her bests.

Castle was doing his bests too, supporting her, regretting for not being there to hold tight her hand. But it came the moment when everyone hushed, just to hear the little girl cry. The father broke the silence, moved. "She's born…Our baby girl is born."

Beckett was on a mixed of expressions, between crying in joy and giggling, hearing her husband shouting out, apparently to everyone who was around him, that his daughter was born.

Lanie was not a religious person, but the only thing she could do was to sit back and keep on repeating. "Good Lord…" She then said that the elevator needed to work as quickly as possible because Johanna was premature and she needed to have all the medical attention she deserved, so as Kate, who was almost fainting.

Before the lights blacked out for Beckett, she said. "Rick, what you think: Johanna Melanie Castle?"

"I think it's perfect. Just perfect." And just like if she had the confirmation she needed to say goodbye to the world for a couple of hours, Beckett fell into a deep sleep as Rick was already hurrying to the hospital where he'd met them.

Kate was going to be sleeping for the next hours and Castle thought about seeing his daughter first, before taking a seat next to his wife. She was on the incubators and he had to dress up with those hospital clothes, to see and hold her. But he didn't want to hold just yet, not without Kate next to him, placing her on his arms, telling him where to place his hands. He just watched her gazing him with her big greenish eyes wide opened.

He was scared just by looking at her: a baby is a small, really small human being, girls usually are smaller, and his little girl was even smaller. She seemed like a little toy and he was scared because he wasn't sure if he was going to hold her right. He put his hand inside the incubator, tapping lightly the tip of her nose and smiling seeing her moving her arms. Her tiny hand grasped his forefinger and his heart stopped, admiring that act. Her hand was so ridiculously small that it couldn't even circle the entire tip of her dad's finger.

"It's daddy, sweetie." His thumb caressed her hand as he spoke. "Grams and your big brother Jimmy are eager to meet you…And so was I." He cried, saying the last sentence. It was true; he just couldn't wait to hold in his arms the result of his love for Kate. But he needed to leave now; he needed to tell the news. "Oh, mother, she's the most gorgeous little thing I've seen in my life." He said over the phone with a knot on the throat. "She's just so tiny, and perfect and adorable."

He could literally hear his mother grin on the other side. "Richard, I can't wait to see my little granddaughter. And Jimmy here is enthusiastic to meet his little sister too."

"Dad, dad, can Grams take me to see her now?" He yelled, running around the house.

Martha put her grandson on the phone. "Not today, Jay-Jay. Maybe tomorrow, but Johanna is so small that she has to stay on a special place for a while, so I don't think you'll be seeing her."

"Oh…" He sighed, disappointed.

"But you can see her from outside, partner." Jimmy was still not talking, saddened. "Little buddy? It's only for a couple of weeks, okay?"

"'Kay." He said finally and gave the phone back to his grandmother.

"Mother, can you give the phone back to Jimmy? I wanna tell him something." Rick realized why Jimmy was so saddened. When he says to his son that someone died, he refers dying as "going to a special place". "Jimmy, dad is the luckiest man alive, you know why?"

"No." He mumbled.

"Because I have an outstanding mother, an extraordinary wife, my daughter is a sweet little angel and my son is a little brave boy, the bravest I'll ever meet. You understand? Everything is fine."

"Okay." He whispered, sounding more hopeful.

Beckett awoke up having her husband's blue eyes gazing her, his hand holding hers and being welcomed back to the world with his adorable smile. The only words that she could remember popping on her head before her black out were Lanie's, on the elevator.

"_Time of birth: 16:47._" The ME declared, thrilled. Usually she announces deaths, deals with death, is surrounded by the death… but not today. She brought a child to the light of the world, her best friend's child, her Goddaughter. And she couldn't be happier for Kate, for herself, for that little creature that was being motherly cuddled on Kate's arms. Kate was crying in happiness, stroking her daughter's face traces, contemplating her perfectness, saying to Rick, over the phone, that she loves him above everything and she was hearing him saying the exact same thing, crying as well.

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**Can I get a review of yours? Come on, it doesn't take you that long to write something...**


	19. Chapter 19

**If you don't like to read M-rated stories, please skip forward this chapter.**

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Rick and Kate had just come from a dinner out. Their relationship was carrying now some 5 months of dating and they were happy with each other.

"Today's to my place." She whispered into his ear on the way to the car.

She took off the coat and he took it from her hand, hanging both his and hers on the coat hanger while she threw the keys on top of the small table in front of the couch. He kicked the door and hugged her from behind, speaking into her ear.

"We're at your place. What's next, detective?"

They were walking to the bedroom and he just kept on kissing her neck and nibbling her earlobe, making her moan and giggle. One of his hands was climbing up underneath her purple v-neck sweater. They didn't make it to the bedroom just yet, because he pressed his body against hers, pinning her on the wall and covered her mouth in kisses.

Her hand ripped wide open his shirt from up to down his chest, unbuttoning all the buttons without tearing off a single one. Her hands slid down his shoulders, dragging the black shirt down to the ground. In the same instant, he stripped off her shirt and threw it behind him, making their bodies' warmth scrape together.

By this time, while her hands were wandering his naked back and his neck, she got rid of the high heeled shoes and she had to stand on tiptoe to reach his lips. His both hands went down to her buttocks and he wrapped her legs around his hips, carrying her to the bedroom, while still hungrily devouring her neck. He laid her over bed and straddled on his knees between her hips, kissing her from her belly, up and down her chest. She was arching her body against him as his hand was on her back, trying to unhooked the clasp of her bra.

He was having a hard time and he couldn't get rid off her bra. She took then command. She unhooked his belt, undid the zipper and took off his jeans in such speed that the shoes and the socks left together. Her hands slid up his organ and she started delivering kisses on his torso, her hair tickling his chest. All of his muscles contracted and he held his breathe until she laid over him. Now he easily unhooked her bra and sat, having her chest uncovered of any piece of clothe.

She nibbled his earlobe and her arms were pressing his head against her chest, where he was kissing her, as his hands undid her jeans. His back was getting red with the traces of her nail scratch. She forced them to lie down on bed again so she could take off the pants and just then he rolled over her again. His hand were rested on her waist as he unhurriedly traced down her body with sounding pecks, one of them right over her scar. That made her chest raise and she expelled the air in a sob; she felt his breathe against the wound and his lips trembling. Since their first time together and up until their last, that spot would always be the most significant and meaningful place to deliver a kiss.

He continued his way down, after taking a short break, keep on trailing the kisses down her, to her tummy. She shrunk one leg at the time, as he dedicated his mouth's attention to each one while his hand rambled the other thigh's skin, soft as velvet, so as it feels the rest of her body. He slowly took off her panties, took off his underwear as well and locked her eyes on her before joining them together. He entered her all at once, but slowly and didn't move. He gave her time to accommodate to the feeling of him inside her and made sure to keep staring into her eyes. He kisses every inch of skin he can, her lips, her face, her neck and her chest, but without moving too much, knowing that he could hurt her by moving without her being ready. They were holding each other as close as it is humanly close; not even a breeze could run through their so clasped and heated bodies.

His hands were on the back of her shoulders, her arms were wrapping him right above his shoulders too and fixing her eyes on his, only one thought came across her mind: he, inside her, that man that was now moving inside was the only one who could make her feel powerless, and she didn't care. He was the only one who she allowed to take full control of her; he was the one who made Kate Beckett want to feel helpless and fragile on his hands. His pace could seem torturously slow for some other woman who would beg him to hurry up, but she didn't mind. He could make her beg sometimes, just out of fun (because he's Richard "playfully" Castle for God sake's!), but the rhythm was just fine because he was all so electrifying that she could reach the peek in mere minutes.

His tongue, teeth and lips were on her neck and she was gasping unashamedly against his ears. When he delivered a single harder thrust, she went over the edge, breathless, clutching his body on hers, arching hers against his. Her knees spiked him on the edge of his chest. His first name came out of her mouth on a moan, in a way he had never heard before from any other woman. At least not as beautifully, passionately and fulfilled as she let it out. The other women screamed it out over and over again; she only said it once, but it was enough to make him follow her over the edge, burying his head on her neck, letting out her name on breath as well.

Her legs fell apart, trembling and she kissed over and over again his neck and shoulder, like if she was thanking him for such bliss. He pulled himself out of her carefully, still trying to come back to his senses but went for another journey, kissing every inch of her all over again. If he had barely got his breath back, she didn't. Every kiss he was putting on her was making her tremble even more. Good Lord, if any other man had made her feel like that before. He already knew the route of her body and yet he always found a new thing about her. She really was a mystery he was never going to solve. For more familiar she could taste and feel, he'd always find her uncharted.

He placed a slow, sweet, long and deep kiss on her lips and rested his forehead on hers. A grin took over her expression, the most beautiful grin he has ever seen in his whole life and that made him put a smooch her cheeks, then on the tip of her nose, on her forehead, on her chin, even on her eyelids. The only thing the woman could do was smile senseless, thanking for having him on her life. There was not going to be any other man to who she'd give in. She didn't let him move from the top of her. She liked the feeling of his weight over her, feeling like an unshaken rock that would protect her from anything and anyone. And indeed he was her solid rock, her solid ground. They were each other's anchor, each other's North Star.

They fell asleep, still wrapped on each other. His hands were still on the back of her shoulders, her arms were still wrapping him right above his shoulders too. The rising sun will illuminate them by the morning and he'll be the first one to awake up, dragging her in arms to underneath the bed sheets, cuddling her on his chest. But the sleep will not hit him any longer as he would be gazing her sleeping figure. The only things left for him to do will be muffle a kiss on her hair and get up to make breakfast. He'll be wearing nothing but his underwear while cooking. The smell of hot coffee and recently made pancakes will come to her and she'll get up, covering her black underwear with his black shirt.

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**If you did read this, please review...They make me happy and I'm having many.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Only 4 more chapters to go. This must come to an end...**

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Beckett sat on the edge of the bathtub, turning the small box on hands over and over again, looking at it. She sighed every time she tried to open it and lost courage to do it.

_It can't be possible. I can't be…Not at this age, Kate! _Her hands were shaking as she was holding the box. _Just do it, woman! Everything will be okay not matter its result. _

Beckett was about to open it when Jimmy almost knocked down the door banging hardly with his fist, yelling. "I don't know who's in there, but can I please take a pee? I've been holding it for an eternity now!"

She quickly grabbed the box that had fell from her hands in startle and put it again on the cabinet. "I'm sorry. Mom is letting you in." She opened the door and found him crossing the legs. "Sorry, baby." The kid ran inside and she closed the door, sighing. _I'm doing it after Jimmy comes out._ _I can't delay it anymore. I even drank like a gallon of water, my bladder is about to burst out!_

Just as she was thinking this outside the bathroom, Castle came running up the stairs towards her and stop by the door.

"Looks like everyone is bladder full in this house, uh?" She smiled weakly at him; she hadn't told him anything yet. "Everything's ok?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Jimmy walked out the bathroom with a relief look on his face and handed her the box, saying.

"This was on the floor." He didn't even give the trouble to see what it was when he gave it to his mother and walked to his bedroom.

"A pregnancy test…" Castle snorted, being impossible for Beckett to distinguish what feeling was on his voice. She wasn't sure if he was doubtful or angry.

She puffed and affirmed. "Yeah, it is…I was gonna do it…now."

"Were you planning on telling me this?" He frowned, looking at her incredulous and puzzled.

"Obviously. Why wouldn't I?"

"I wait outside." He said as she closed the door slowly. In a while she was opening the door to him again, calling him by the hand. The look in her eyes said she needed his support in that moment and he entered the bathroom, locking the door.

The pregnancy test was on the edge of the washbasin, still without results. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest, kissing her on the forehead. He sat on the toilet lid and she sat on his lap as both waited. That moment flashed on their minds; three years ago they were doing the exact same thing, eagerly and as a last try, waiting for the positive result, which came true, otherwise Johanna wouldn't be three-years-old now.

"How's gonna be?" He asked fearfully. "What should we hope?"

She rested her forehead on his and closed her eyes, whispering. "I don't either. Obviously I'll love this child more than my life, but…did we want another baby?" She wanted an answer from him, but he was speechless. He didn't even know what to think. However, she figured she had to explain him why she hadn't told him anything yet. "I didn't tell you this before because I didn't wanna worry you or giving you false hopes."

"But you should have. That must have been killing you…These are not the kind of stuff you handle on your own."

"I know, and I'm sorry." She kissed the top of his head and looked back, but the test hadn't results yet. His arms were around her waist, but moved by the moment and without realizing it, one of his hands rested on top of tummy, caressing it.

Beckett turned back, picking up the pregnancy test with the result turned to her palm. "Ready?" She asked him, getting a nod. She turned it around and said gloomily. "Negative."

They were in silence for a while. They didn't want another child, but being denied by that little plastic stuff was no good. Both of them had taken those minutes to think what would be with a third kid around the house…and the idea wasn't that bad. After a while, he broke the silence. "Don't hate me for saying this, and call me old-fashioned, but I'm 46, you're 41. I don't think these are ages for having babies anymore. We should focus on raising the ones we have, and that's already a lot of work!"

"I know." She giggled. "I kinda panicked when I thought of it as a possibility. But, seriously, in what was I thinking? Being pregnant at 41?"

"Well, I already told you that you're extraordinary, and let's be honest:" Castle pecked her lips and then whispered against her mouth. "my boys are still really good!"

"Uhm," Beckett squinted. "are they?"

He put an offended expression on his face, so typical of him and then said, trying to sound pouted. "You know, I was thinking of something, now I don't tell!"

"Ok." She said playfully, getting up, or at least, trying to get up from his lap. She knew he wouldn't bear not telling her. He pulled her back, begging her with the look. "Please, tell me what was on your mind."

"I thought that the shower is really close…and it's cold outside."

"It'll be cold too if we strip off our clothes, you know?" She bickered, teasingly.

"We turn the water really hot, and I warm you up too!" He said, already stripping off the shirt.

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**I ask you to review. I'm not getting any reviews and I don't know if you're still following the story.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you all for the reviews. I'm glad to hear from you and to get to know that you're still reading! To thank you, I leave you this chapter. A brother-sister interaction chapter.**

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Jimmy tossed and turned on bed, clutching the eyes together. He groaned out annoyed for not sleeping. He kicked back the bed sheet and rubbed the face, sighing deeply. He laid face down, burying the face on the pillow and shrank the body. He turned over again, sitting on the edge of the bed. Jimmy groaned out again and put the feet on the cold wooden floor. He dragged his body to the kitchen and groped the furniture, for not having to light up the division. He opened a cupboard and grabbed a cup; then he opened the fridge and poured milk into the glass. Jimmy took the glass with him to the couch and sat there, drinking it. When he was done, he walked back to his bedroom but on the way he heard a whimper coming from his sister's bedroom.

"Joey?" He whispered, opening the door and peeking.

Johanna was sat on the bed, wiping away her tears quickly. Kate Beckett was too proud to have a presence light, and her daughter was proud too. She had a nightmare but didn't want her big brother to know about it.

"Joey, what's wrong?" He insisted, taking a seat next to her on bed.

"I had a bad dream." She confessed. "I'm scared Jay-Jay."

"It's okay, _mei-mei_." He replied, hugging his three-year-old sister.

"Can you tell me a story?"

"Uh, let's see…" He tapped the chin, thoughtful. "Can I make up one?" Johanna nodded and he got up from bed to allow her to lie down again and tucked the bed sheet to her. He sat on the edge of the bed again and Johanna was staring at him, sleepy. "Once upon a time, in a very far away land, there was a princess on a big, big castle. But the princess was trapped in there and she wanted to come outside and play in the gardens."

"Why was she trapped in there?" Johanna questioned on a mumble.

"You don't get to ask questions, this is my story! Anyway, she couldn't come out because a giant dragon was guarding the door, a sticky, enormous and disgusting green dragon. One day, a boy walked out the big castle and saw the little girl, alone and sad." By this time Johanna's eyes were blinking. "He wanted a friend to play with, so as she. So, the boy tried to make a deal with the dragon, but he didn't let the girl out. The boy, who was a prince from another kingdom, pulled out his sword and fired a laser against him. The dragon shrank to the size of a tiny lizard." Johanna's eyes were almost shut as she yawned one last time. Jimmy finished then the story, whispering. "The little girl left the castle and she and the boy played happily ever after in the big gardens." Jimmy leaned over his sister and on a sweet brotherly act put a kiss on her cheek and said. "The end…Good night, Joey."

Jimmy walked to his bed again and snuggled on the bed sheet and the blanket. With what he dreamt of? The little princess trapped in the big castle as Johanna and he as the prince from the other kingdom, rescuing her and playing with her. He awoke up frustrated by the morning because on his mind the story seemed a lot more vivid than how he told his sister. But he managed to tell her the story again, describing every single detail. What he really wanted was to let her know exactly how he had thought of the story. Johanna was impressed with the castle's description and grossed out with the dragon's appearance.

What mattered was that Jimmy told the story the way he pictured and on that day, he was the lovable brother, playing with her just like the prince and the princess did. Castle and Beckett were heart melted to see them playing along, because when they want, they can be pesky and mean to each other and their parents don't have a second of peace…which was going to happen just the next day. For today they kept playing and laughing around.

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**As many of you may know mei-mei its Mandarin for little sister. **

**I've got nothing else to say other than there are three more chapters to post. And to ask you to take two minutes of your time writing me a review.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi everyone, thank you so much for all of your reviews. I loved every single one and I expect more! I couldn't finish this story (unfortunately, in two chapters...) without write a moment between Martha and Beckett (and a little bit of Castle's interaction here too).**

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Beckett was going to leave the hospital by the end of that day. Thinking that she entered only with Castle and now they'd be leaving with their newborn son in arms. He had left for a cup of coffee, knowing that his mother would be coming to visit her in just a while. Beckett took that little time to be alone with little Jimmy, having him lying over thighs. She was rubbing his chest and tummy as he stretched and yawned, liking what his mother was doing.

"It was a lot easier when I was carrying you inside me, you know?" She held his head on her both hands, looking him in the eyes. They were so wide and so green, staring her attentively. "I don't know what to do-"

"Of course you do, darling." Beckett turned her head to the door, seeing Martha entering. "You're feeling insecure, incapable, aren't you?"

"I guess I never felt like this before…" She confessed.

"Powerless, naïve…But it's only a normal reaction." Martha pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat.

"You felt this way too?"

"I did. It's a normal reaction to a mother no matter how many children she may have. She'll always feel she's not up to the task."

"I'm deciding for another human being's life. I need to take care of him and I don't want to screw it up." Beckett looked her son; he was only three days old and she was only thinking that she'd have to deal with these situations for the rest of her life. "I mean, I don't even know how to put the clothes on him."

Martha got up and only took a few steps to the door. "But for that we can call a nurse."

"Actually," Beckett's voice made her stop and look back. "I'd prefer if you could help me."

"Oh dear, it's been thirty some-odd years," She said on a giggle but approached her. "but let's see what I can do! Can you get up from bed?"

"Sure." Beckett pulled Jimmy closer to her chest and got a help with the bed sheet from Martha, who pulled them back, as she got up from bed.

"Richard has always been so right about you."

"Why so?" Beckett couldn't disguise the gleam on her eyes and the little smirk on her lips when she heard that.

"He always said you were a strong woman. When I gave birth to Richard, I lied down on bed for three days without moving with the pain and you just jump off bed so easily."

"Oh well," She carefully placed Jimmy over the bed. "the merit goes to this little man for not making it hard on mom. And for being strangely quiet and calm regardless of the father he has!"

The other woman laughed heartily, handing the detective the romper suit. Beckett grabbed it and looked at it. "Just do it, I'll be here if you need help."

Beckett started carefully dressing up her son and that was when Castle entered the room. He propped his elbows on the bed and the chin on both hands, being right behind his son's head and watch her wife putting on his tiny clothes. "Oh, come on, that's easy to do. I had to change his diaper yesterday and you saw and smelled that that was no good!" He complained.

"But you sure did a good job," She put a kiss on his forehead and picked up Jimmy in arms, sitting on the edge of the bed. "so I'm putting you up to that task from now on!"

"No, no, I do anything else." He begged. "I can even try breastfeeding, really!"

"That's just weird!"

He gave his previous sentence a thought and then agreed. "Yeah, that did sound weird!"

"You know what you were good too yesterday?" She said not taking the eyes of her son, yawning. She then put the baby on his arms, helping him placing the hands. "Putting him to sleep;" She said smiling, and not noticing that Martha was gazing them too and smiling as well. She didn't understand Kate's insecurity, seeing her and her son dealing with a baby so well. "he liked dad's cuddling."

Martha sat on the edge of the bed with Beckett as Castle put the pacifier on the baby's mouth and started rocking him lightly. The baby sucked the pacifier and his eyes trembled. "You two did a gorgeous and adorable creature."

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**So, what you guys thought of this?**


	23. Chapter 23

******The chapter before the last one...I decided to give you a view of how I pictured the families of the 12th. Hope you like my view...**

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**James "Jimmy", "Jim", "Jay-Jay" Alexander Castle** could be easily described as Castle's son. The son who took after his looks, his personality, his ways of being, of speaking, even of behaving. But he's not all dad's, he has a lot of his mother too, starting with the obvious greenish eye color and going all the way to his smartness. His intuition, his teasing wit and the sweet tooth both share. Who doesn't appreciate this is Ryan, who has to keep the desk's drawer, filled with sweets, locked, away from the eyes, hands and teeth of the eight-year-old.

**Johanna "Joey" Melanie Castle** is described on a different way: more of mom, not so much of dad. As Jimmy and his mother share the enjoyment for candies, something that was not imaginable on Beckett, Johanna shares with her father the willingness of new experiences. She's the one who always surrounds him on the kitchen when it comes to invent new breakfasts. Apart from that, Joey is all like Kate: the less temperate attitude, the tenacity and inability of letting go easily that she already has (which are preoccupying sometimes because she's only three!), even the untamed hair, when wet, curly and lioness styled.

On the way of teaching and raising their kids, **Rick **and** Kate** are different, but they agree on one thing: the discipline of the "you do, you learn what happens". If the kids want to try out eating sand, let them; they'll learn that it is no good. Apart from that, they don't always agree on the way of educating their kids. Kate believes they should be always told the truth, while Rick believes that a little magic and secrecy wouldn't kill them. He's the one who always goes out the room before having to ground them, she's the one who does it.

But if someone is seriously scared on the discipline of "you do, you learn what happens" is **Jenny**. She can't even think of letting her son eat sand, she can't even think of letting him run around in the water park without cover him up in sun cream. She's overprotective of her eight-year-old son, five months older than Jimmy. She makes sure Johnny gets a lot of kisses and hugs, makes sure he's always safe and protected. **Ryan**, on the other hand, proved to be a father just like Castle: easy-going, playful, incapable of grounding his son, ready to prove everything to him with a flashy story that originally came out of Castle's mouth.

**John "Johnny" Kevin Ryan** is a typical eight-year-old kid: likes to climb up the trees whenever his mother isn't looking, loves to rob candies from his father's desk drawer. He's a kid who does the handstand and walks over the hands for a while, getting the cheeks all red because of the bloodstream rushing to his face. Right now he's on over his father's shoulders, trying to knock down his best buddy, Jimmy, who's up on his father's shoulders, being the four inside the swimming pool.

**Aiden "Addy" Gabriel Esposito **is a five-year-old who's much alike his ex-military father: he beats Uncle Ryan on an arm wrestle, and Ryan doesn't have pity with him…well, he doesn't have much pity. Obviously he doesn't think of breaking the kid's arm, but Aiden just simply has mad strength! He craves on Uncle Castle his brown eyes, making him swallow the joke he had. On the looks, he's the cutest thing around with his brown eyes and hair, that he wants to cut shave so bad, like dad's, but his mother doesn't allow. And Aunt Beckett and Aunt Jenny thank her for that; Aiden is just adorable with that spiked up hair! Only thing she couldn't stand on her son: he addresses to people with "Yo!"

**Lanie **has tell him innumerous times for him to stop with it, but it got so rooted both on the father and on the son that she eventually gave up. She has no peace at home as she lives with three males. When Aiden suggests **Esposito** to scare his mother, he joins in the joke the second after. And even little Cole laughs when she startles! But Esposito he's a caring father, the kind of father that would bleed out to death for his boys; he's the kind of father who picks them up in arms and snuggles them on bed. He sometimes gets home and before lying down next to his life partner, who sometimes is already at home, he walks to the boy's bedroom and watches them sleep. He closes his eyes and prays for them to be safe, day after day. Lanie, on her way, thanks every day they get to live, overcoming the every day's challenges that their jobs bring.

**Colin "Cole" Riley Esposito **is the youngest of the five kids of the gang. The little boy is only a year and half, but he's already smart and sneaky. Too sneaky should be said! But only Javier has to complain about him. He's a little devil to him, always trying to prank him and being a bit rough when playing with his father. Usually he goes into biting, kicking and punching. Sometimes he forgives his son's behavior because he's still young, a toddler, but some other times he imposes himself, to teach him that those are bad things to do. When it comes to education and respect, Esposito is very strict and the kids understand. Even little energetic Cole who Esposito often characterized as Lanie's personality copy.

But today Aiden is more than just a five-year-old boy, he's the birthday boy. The gang was all together on a day off. They were at a water park, each one with their families. Lanie was relieved that he had chosen the water park because the idea of celebrating his birthday on a laser tag or a paintball fight had crossed through his mind. And through Esposito's mind. And through Castle's mind. And through Ryan's mind. And the four were already twisting Cole's innocent and unconscious little mind to get into the idea!

Right now, the three ladies were sitting and enjoying a drink, Castle and Ryan were on the swimming pool with their sons, Esposito was watching over Riley and Johanna who were playing together and Aiden was sat at the edge of the swimming pool, cheering for Jimmy and Johnny, laughing, waiting for his turn to join in the game. They all had doubts on the way they were raising their kids, and in moments like those they seemed to realize that they were doing just fine. More easy-going, protective or strict, they were all doing a good job on educating those five little kids. They were turning into respectable citizens and amazing human beings. They were basically raising them to their image. And that was just a great thought. If only everyone could be that way…

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**Did you like the families that I created?**


	24. Chapter 24

**Las chapter my dear readers. I know, I'm sad too. But I don't want to be sad, I just did an exam today, it went good, so I'll say goodbye to this story with a smile as well! This one is about photos, I thought it would be a great ending chapter.**

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Kate just loved to, once in a while, got through photographs. She brought from the closet a small box and sat on the edge of the bed.

Lanie was the one who took that photo. Kate's favorite for sure. The photo was taken on the beach. Kate was wearing a white summer dress that reached her by the knee. She was barefoot, on the tip of feet with her arms around Rick's neck. Her hair was wavy, down, framing her face and there was a full grin on her lips. His face was close to hers; he was gazing into her eyes with the same smile on him as the one she had. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and the sun was setting right behind them, amazingly positioned, illuminating their faces.

Kate smiled holding the photo. The only thing portrayed on it was Johanna's face, more specifically her bright greenish eyes, her nose and her lips put together, ready to give a kiss. Rick told her to send a kiss to the camera. Instead the two-year-old walked to him and he got the shot before her lips cracked a kiss on the lens of the camera.

She remembered that photo. But, well, she did remember all the five days. Paris was the background outside the window and that was, if she was not mistaken, the second day of their honeymoon. It was a honeymoon, seven months after their wedding, but it was still lived with the same intensity as if had been enjoyed at the right time. Kate was pregnant at the time, so they agreed to delay the travel. But that photo, whenever she looks at it, she blushes and thinks that she can actually be sexy. Rick sure had a great eye for that shot. She was lying in bed, without any piece of clothe on. Yet, nothing private was exposed. Both her legs were shrunk, hiding her groin area and her right arm was put across her chest, covering her breasts. She had her head turned to the camera and her hair fell over her cheek and chest, dazzling framing her.

Oh, Jimmy and the boys. Kate was more than smiling, she was near giggling. Jimmy, Ryan and Esposito were beyond words on that photo, taken right in the 12th, better, in a cell. If she ever imagined everywhere Castle, Ryan and Esposito had been taking that kid they'd be dead just with her look! For some reason all of their kids knew that police station too well… She couldn't tell if the two detectives were in some way adorable or just being ridiculous, standing next to her son. The three of them were on a pose of demonstration of power and masculinity, showing the muscles. It wouldn't look that bad if they were not clenching the teeth…

This photo she was holding now was taken on one of those days when the team got the chance to be all together, outside work, just like old times before everyone having a family at home. Not that they didn't like having a family at home, waiting for them, but sometimes they all wanted a night out for a couple of drinks; to just be like they used to be, all single and without obligations. They were on the Old Haunt, she, Castle, Lanie, Ryan, Esposito and Jenny that usually joined them on those nights. Just the five of them and Jenny, or like Castle likes to say "the fantastic five and a beautiful lady", "the best team of the Homicides and a beautiful lady" or "the New York finest ones and a beautiful lady", always including Jenny, because she was part of the team just like he was even though both didn't belong to the precinct. They were all sat at a booth, each man with the arm over his woman shoulder, grinning to the photo, holding the beer bottle. Logan, one of the Rick's employees took the photo of the six, all almost on top of each other's to fit in the picture.

It was Richard Castle's ninth book release party. The ninth of the Nikki Heat series, four of them already turned into movies and all of the books, as always, had been selling hits. Everyone was there, literally everyone. Castle obviously invited his friends to come, but now his friends also brought their families. And he also invited her father, Jim Beckett. He was part of the family. So, as they, the adults, were entertained, so were their kids, stealing food just for fun, doing pranks to the waiters, being the five of them little devils. But they were able to behave for the photo. All the men, with no exception of age were dressed in tuxedos and the ladies, well, it was impossible to tell who was the most stunning, because they all were beautiful. From Beckett, to Lanie, Jenny and Martha, the four women were the most gorgeous of the party, and even little Johanna, who put up a fuss to wear a dress, was adorable.

Beckett had to admit, looking at the photo, that other than her kids, there was only one more person she considered adorable when sleeping. And that was her husband; her boyfriend at the time. She decided to take a photo of that adorableness sleeping. She caught him on this shot on a winter night, and they were not in bed but on her couch, watching a movie. Rick's hair was messy as Kate had been running her fingers through it, and she just couldn't explain why she loved so much seeing him sleeping. Maybe it was because he was profound and peacefully sleeping with his head over her legs. That day turned out to be very important. She stroked his cheek with her thumb and kissed his forehead, the tip of his nose and pecked on his lips until he opened up his eyes. That was the first time she ever told him that she loved him…

Kate held another photo in hands. She was didn't know this photo had been taken, but she certainly remembered the date. Mother's Day, two years ago. She, Jimmy and Johanna were on the photo. They were on the zoo, next to the area of the elephants. Beckett was ducked as her two kids were hugging her; Jimmy was ten-years-old and Johanna was five-years-old. Their gift for her, with a little help from their father, was, as Kate loves elephants, having her adopting an elephant since, and as Rick explained Johanna, they couldn't take one home.

Beckett made the promise to herself of only grabbing one more photo. And she couldn't have picked a better one than the family photo. Martha suggested a walk on the park to take the kids out of the house for a couple of hours; Castle and Beckett agreed. At some point the actress stood behind and watched them walking. Her son and Kate were walking hand in hand when Jimmy held his mother's hand. Then Johanna came running to them too and Rick picked her up in arms. Martha caught that shot with them back turned to the camera, but it was beautiful as the sun helped creating a warmer atmosphere, shedding the reds and oranges colors over the greenish of the trees. After that, Martha joined them and they walked home.

Home. Now every time Beckett says she's heading home, she only thinks of that loft where she lives now with Rick, Martha, Jimmy and Johanna. And she says "_this is our home"_. Home is where the heart stops, and if the heart wants what the heart wants, then that home is exactly where she's supposed to be. With the ones she loves, with the ones who love her. With her family, with her friends. With her memories…_their_ memories.

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THE END

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**Let me hear from you your last opinion. This is your last chance to comment on this...**


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